An elderly person with AD sits on a wheelchair at a nursing home in Beijing. Photo: CFP

As the warm noon sunlight pours into the ward through the window, Wu Peichen, 92, sleeps serenely on her sickbed. In her youth, she was an underground CPC (Communist Party of China) member; later, she went on to become a well-respected headmaster and Party secretary with a local primary school. Now many of those memories are gone, and ventilator tubes in her nose help her breathe. At the Beijing Geriatric Hospital (BGH) located in Wenquan township in Haidian district, the Alzheimer's disease (AD) patient has been receiving treatment for three years.

Wu is one of China's growing population of patients with AD, the most common form of dementia. Caused by neurological damage, AD's symptoms include memory loss and other cognitive impairments. They get worse over time. There is no cure for the disease.

According to a 2013 article in medical journal The Lancet, China has more than 9 million AD patients. However, the majority are either undiagnosed or being cared for at home by family members and relatives. Even in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, only 30 percent of patients seek treatment in hospitals.

"Caring for AD patients poses a big burden for society," said Lü Jihui, an expert in dementia at BGH. "The number of patients is growing steadily as China becomes a graying society. Statistics show that about 5 percent of elderly people above the age of 65 suffer from AD. The rate increases to more than 20 percent among people above 80."

"My auntie started having difficulty remembering facts as she turned 80," recalled Guo Jun, Wu's nephew-in-law. At the age of 85, Wu had a brain scan and was diagnosed with AD. As the disease progressed, Wu was eventually admitted to the hospital for professional treatment. "This is not a disease that can be cured by surgery. It requires long-term treatment. If the patient develops a fever or cough and is not properly treated, it can be life-threatening," said Guo.

At BGH, which has allocated 70 sickbeds for AD patients, the patients receive not only medical treatment but also non-drug therapies, such as musical therapy, cognitive training and behavior modification training.

China's healthcare system covers most of the medical cost for AD patients; however, the extra cost of hiring a trained caregiver isn't affordable for many families. 

In Beijing, the monthly salary for a trained caregiver who is skilled at administering medicine properly to the patient and helping to keep their mouth and body clean is about 4,000-5,000 yuan ($642-$803). 

"It is a big financial burden," said Lü. "According to statistics from Europe, the total expenses for an aged person from AD diagnosis to death is almost equivalent to the combined expenses for a stroke patient, a cardiovascular disease patient and a cancer patient."

Meanwhile, finding affordable nursing homes can also be a struggle in China.

Public nursing homes do not accept senior citizens with psychiatric diseases or dementia; meanwhile, private nursing homes are usually either expensive or not qualified to deal with people with dementia.

In Lü's opinion, if the government would consider integrating the cost of nursing homes into the health care system, it would help ease the economic burden for families.

"The cost of treatment is beyond our means," said Guo, who has retired from an international trade company. "These patients are a group of people who need support and care from the government and society," he said.