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KMID : 1040120180040010010
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Evidence and Values in Healthcare
2018 Volume.4 No. 1 p.10 ~ p.17
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Brain as a Complex System and Dementia
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Suh Guk-Hee
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Abstract
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Introduction: Brain is a Complex System with neurons as nodes and synapses as links. The nodes of brain network can be identified as hubs which get highly focusing connectivity from other nodes anatomically and functionally. Dementia can be assumed that the brain cannot maintain normal functions as usual due to destruction or death of hub neurons in view of complex system theory.
Main Text: Dementia is a condition of chronic brain failure. Organ failure means the failure of an essential system in the
body irrespective of any causes leading to the organ dysfunction so that normal homeostasis cannot be maintained. Symptoms or a syndrome is greatly different from a disease. Dementia is a group of symptoms or a syndrome, not a disease. National health program to detect early dementia can greatly waste social and personal resources due to two reasons. Firstly, in case of correct detection of early dementia, problem can arise from absence of ways to cure or delay progression of dementia. National health programs to prevent and treat hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, smoking and so on have been successfully implemented, which may be also greatly helpful to prevent occurrence of dementia. The key message of England’s national campaign is “What is good for your heart is good for your head” as a strong prevention slogan. Individuals who have been informed that they have dementia may feel very uncomfortable and desperate to find ways to prevent or treat their own dementia. There is no ways with proven efficacy and safety for the treatment of dementia in terms of cure or delay of progression. However they will try to make great efforts in vain. It is a tragedy. Secondly, in case of wrong diagnosis of early dementia which is much more likely to happen, individuals may feel anxious and panic after hearing that they might have early dementia and visit dementia experts with expectation that they do not have early dementia. Unfortunately even though they are informed that they do not have dementia from dementia experts, they cannot feel sure and continue to feel uncomfortable and anxious which will lead them to other dementia experts.
Conclusion: We need to know that we cannot defeat dementia by campaigns and political will to fight against dementia. Rather we need to be truly humane enough to take good care of high dependent people with dementia to die with human dignity, not to leave them outside of society.
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KEYWORD
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Brain, Dementia, Complex System, Syndrome, Burden, Cost
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