A review in eager anticipation of the 1st Alps-Adriatic Dementia Congress in Velden, Austria. One of the outstanding speakers of the 5^th Carinthian Dementia Forum 2017 was Prof. Dr. Dr. Manfred Spitzer from Germany with his talk on „Digital Dementia“.

Manfred Spitzer has been the Medical Director of the Psychiatric University Hospital in Ulm since 1997. According to Spitzer, digital media is also extremely addictive and results in long-term damage to the body (through stress, insomnia or obesity) and especially the mind. The brain generally only develops when it is being used: every single observation, thought, feeling, experience, decision and action changes its make-up.  This is regarded as one of the most significant findings in neuroscience of the latest decades. The opposite is also true: memory pathways will start to deteriorate and break down completely, when they are underused. Decreased activity causes the brain to shrink.

The brain generally only develops when it is being used: every single observation, thought, feeling, experience, decision and action changes it.

In addition, chronic stress leads to the downfall of neural cells. Digital dementia presents itself as the increasing inability to maintain orientation and its consequences are wide-ranging: social decline and isolation, depression and a much earlier death. So, what can and should be done to prevent this? It cannot mean doing away with digital media in the fields of technology or science, because it is only in knowing the risks and side-effects that digital media can be used responsibly and sustainably in the long-term.

Alps-Adriatic Dementia Congress 2018

The Kärntner Demenzforum (Carinthian Dementia Forum)was launched 6 years ago and started organising a series of talks by highly qualified experts on the subject of dementia and in turn received considerable attention. Over the last 6 years this forum has grown and since developed into an international conference. This year it will be held under its new title “First Alps-Adriatic Dementia Congress from 11-12 October in Velden under the patronage of the Minister of Social Affairs, Mag.ª Hartinger-Klein.

 

Additional Links
> The Programme for the 1st Alps-Adriatic Dementia Congress
> The workshops at the 1st Alps-Adriatic Dementia Congress
> The Speakers at the 1st Alps-Adriatic Dementia Congress

Information: demenzkongress.com

If you have any queries, please contact:
Mag.ª Natali Mosser – N.Mosser@aha-gruppe.at