World Alzheimer's Day marked to awaken care and awareness

Shanghai's Changning District is poised to build a community friendly to Alzheimer's disease patients as World Alzheimer's Day fell on Wednesday.

Gu Chunling, founder of an aged people caring service provider certificated in caring Alzheimer's patients based in Shanghai, said the care is needed for the patients' families as well to build the community.

The most common form of dementia among aged people, Alzheimer's causes loss of memory and thinking skills, and eventually causes the sufferer to be incapable of self-care.

China is home to about 10 million Alzheimer's disease patients and the number is expected to reach 30 million in 2050 as the nation ages rapidly. Low levels of awareness of the disease, medical attendance and treatment are still common.

Roche Pharma China, headquartered in Shanghai, will work with the local communities to promote awareness of the disease and build the disease-friendly community.

According to the Healthy China 2030 initiative, the nation is aiming to decrease the growth rate of dementia patients aging above 65.