Five sources of hope for the deeply forgetful: Dementia in the twenty-first century

At this point of time, two decades after intense biological research into dementia began, we need to reassess our perspective on hope, and understand the need for some redirection toward the larger questions of care when no cure is in sight. It does seem appropriate to focus more of our hope and possibly resources on care itself, and on the creation of attitudinal shifts toward the affirmation of the deeply forgetful. There is no compound available yet that promised to slow or cure dementia. We can have hope in dietary modifications that may delay onset; compassionate carers who manifest our deepest sense of a shared humanity despite cognitive decline; the increasing evidence for enduring selves beneath the chaos of neurological devastation; and the possibilities of a spiritual–cultural evolution toward acceptance, affirmation, and connection with the deeply forgetful. This paper will discuss and critically assess these sources of hope in the world of the deeply forgetful.