Dancing to remember: Elderly Turks dance to folk song to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s

A group of 250 elderly citizens from Muratpaşa Municipality's nursing home danced in the streets of Turkey's Antalya province to the traditional Turkish folk song "Erik Dalı" to bring awareness to Alzheimer's disease.

Participants of the event danced in the streets, sporting various slogans and posters on their backs reading, "I'm aware and I'm dancing," "I' m aware, I'm drawing," "I am aware, I'm listening to music."

With September 21 marking World Alzheimer's Day, many organizations and patients participated in activities across Turkey.

Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.

New research has shown that negative thinking may increase the risk of contracting Alzheimer's disease, according to the general secretary of the Turkish Neurology Foundation.

General Secretary Professor Demet Özbabalık Adapınar said that avoiding any negative thinking may also help with treating patients that already suffer from Alzheimer's.

Previous research conducted by The University College of London shows that "there is evidence that psychological factors such as anxiety, depression and stress could increase the risk of developing dementia. A combination of these psychological factors may prevent new memories from forming and leave the brain more vulnerable to dementia, in a process termed 'cognitive debt'," as published in Alzheimer's Society.

As the population gradually ages, the risk of contracting the disease is also increasing, Adapınar said.

"Currently, while it is known that there are nearly 40 million Alzheimer patients worldwide, it is expected for this figure to increase to 115.4 million by 2050," she said.

There is no known cure or effective treatment for the disease for the time being, Adapınar said.