The Iron Lady is losing her edge, but Indians may be able to talk their way out of trouble.
The Iron Lady’s mind is growing rusty. So says her daughter in a new memoir. Now 82, Margaret Thatcher suffers from dementia, a progressive decline in the brain’s functioning that affects the memory, language, attention, problem-solving abilities, social behaviour and sense of orientation of, mostly, elderly people over 65.
Carol Thatcher first noticed the change in her formidable mother during a conversation in 2000. The former PM confused the 1990s Balkans crisis with the 1980s Falklands war. In 2002 her mother suffered a series of small strokes and gave up public speaking.
Now, Carol writes, her mother keeps forgetting that her husband Denis died in 2003. “Every time it finally sank in that she had lost her husband of more than 50 years, she’d look at me sadly and say ‘Oh.’” But memories of the Downing Street years are relatively clear.
Dementia is not unusual among the elderly. Usually there’s no cure. Doctors only hope to diagnose early and then slow the rate of decline so the person can manage independently as long as possible.
There are many causes, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, syphilis, thyroid gland malfunction, substance abuse, even boxing, if the pugilist has taken too many hits to the head. Scientists also think that excess belly fat during middle age raises the risk of dementia in old age, because of the chemicals it produces.
Prevention is the only safeguard. You’re safer if you have a mentally and physically active life and regular but moderate alcohol intake, watch your blood pressure and, possibly, follow a “Mediterranean” diet that forestalls major nutrient deficiencies.
More From This Section
Margaret Thatcher was known for her sharp political brain and her head for detail — and she was certainly active even after being ousted as PM. Yet that clearly wasn’t defence enough.
Scientists long thought that dementia affected fewer people in poorer countries. But a new study using data from countries including China, Mexico and India shows that the rates of dementia are the same as in the West. As our population ages, there will be many more sufferers. Not much is being done to prepare for this future crisis.
We do have one safeguard in India: a 2007 study says that in fully bilingual individuals, who use more of their brain, dementia can be delayed by as much as four years. Most of us are at least that.