The first sign of Alzheimer’s disease is behavioral change, not memory loss, says Dr. Marcel S. Filart, board certified in internal medicine with a specialty in geriatric medicine in Los Angeles, California.

Public figures who are starting to have Alzheimer’s, for instance, will say something inappropriate in public, or someone who is reserved will suddenly exhibit the behavior of a sexual offender.

“That’s because the impulse console is hindered. It’s an unrecognized disease and is the sixth leading cause of death in America,” Filart said. “In the Philippines, the memory-loss patient is really just thrown into the basket as ulyanin.”

Alzheimer’s is a progressive mental deterioration that occurs in middle or old age, where dementia symptoms worsen over the years. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.

It is the most common form of dementia—a general term for loss of memory and other cognitive abilities that interfere with daily life.

Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging, Filart said. It has no cure at present. There are, however, treatments for the symptoms.

These symptoms include memory loss, difficulty solving problems, difficulty completing familiar tasks, confusion with time or place, losing the ability to retrace steps, misplacing things, problems with words, poor judgment, and withdrawal from work or social activities.

Many people have trouble with memory, though, and this does not automatically mean they have Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s is not the only cause of memory loss. If someone is experiencing symptoms of dementia, it is best to have a qualified doctor evaluate the patient.

“We have a booming aging population,” Filart said. “In our culture, we take care of our elderly. Maybe that’s because we have maids and our children have a lot of time. The caregiver support is still there.”

But we are a changing society, he added. As we move forward to becoming a developed country in the next 20 years, people will become career-driven and maids will be very expensive.

Burden of caregiving

“The younger generation today is unlikely to take care of their elderly,” Filart said. “As life expectancy increases, the burden of caregiving is going to be similar to that of America. The elderly will become vulnerable.”

The burden of elderly care is a worldwide crisis, such that foreigners are already looking at the Philippines as a haven for their elderly.

As one of the pioneers of telemedicine, the remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology, Filart next year will be introducing HubChart, an app for iOS and Android phones that could deliver access to health care to remote areas.

HubChart will empower patients without access to care to meet their basic needs, where consulting a doctor can be easily done in the comfort of one’s home. You can communicate with the doctor via the app, since 80 percent of the cases can be solved by just messaging, and sending pictures and videos, he said.

“The struggle of getting a patient to a doctor’s clinic is eliminated,” Filart pointed out.

The app is going to be free for doctors and patients to use. There will be a standardized consultation fee for the doctors, based on qualifications and star ratings. Doctors who are board certified will be paid more, although prices, Filart said, will be significantly lower than the current rates of consultation.

HubChart is already up and running in the US.

Filart said all one needs to do is put in all information in the app, including lab results and genetic predisposition. The app tells you the things you are likely to have and what you should do.

If you’re a diabetic-hypertensive 40-year-old, it would set out a care plan for you that would say, for example, every six months you should get a blood workup or check your vision.

The app doesn’t diagnose, but introduces guidelines. The app is like an assistant, sorting through thousands of files and matching in seconds. You can do DIY healthcare, and it helps the doctor treat you.

It’s a portal where patients and doctors can communicate. You get to talk to specialists via the app’s messaging system.

“In the Philippines, I’m planning to make it like a Yelp for service where patients can do a general search of a doctor and connect, or do a specific search of their doctors,” Filart said. “We are also designing a function of the app where Filipinos could use the same multimedia messaging for their doctors in the Philippines or in the US.”