With the population of elderly people in India growing rapidly, the number of patients with Alzheimer's disease would also grow and the medical community in the country should be prepared to diagnose, treat and work closely with these families, according to Prof Jeffrey L Cummings, renowned expert in treating Alzheimer's disease.

Worldwide, nearly ten per cent of the people over the age of 65 were suffering from this disease but in India, the percentage seemed to be less. According to Prof. Cummings the hypothesis for the less number of patients in India is their diet which is supposedly anti-oxidant.

Prof Cummings, a director with the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Centre, Los Angeles, USA, is here to deliver the 23rd T S Srinivasan Endowment lecture on 'Dementia: From science to patient', organised by the T S Srinivasan Department of Clinical Neurology and Research.

Cummings said the incidence of Alzheimer's disease was at a higher level in the United States and European countries, but it was less prevalent in countries like India and Nigeria.