Of the 33,000 Irish people suffering from dementia, 70-75 per cent have Alzheimer's disease, Ms Barbara Scully of the Alzheimer's Society told the conference.
"The incidence of Alzheimer's is going to increase as we have an ageing population," Ms Scully said. "It will become a major health issue in the near future."
Diagnosis was important to eliminate similar, but treatable, conditions; to ascertain whether relief drugs might be suitable; and from a legal point of view, so that the sufferer might turn power of attorney over to a loved one.
After outlining the symptoms - loss of memory, difficulty with language, irritability and progressive inability to complete semicomplex tasks such as cooking - Ms Scully invited carers to get in touch with the society for advice and support.
Ms Mary Murray, a clinical nurse specialist at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin, outlined the first phase of a scheme to introduce screening for breast cancer for women between the ages of 50 and 64. Initially open to women in the Eastern, North Eastern and Midlands Health Board areas, letters of invitation will be sent out in the next few weeks, with women in the rest of the State invited at a later date.
Ms Murray said that as women aged, the risk of getting breast cancer increased. Other key factors in the development of breast cancer were family history, never having been pregnant, delaying pregnancy until after 30 or a history of a breast biopsy showing abnormal cells.
"Self-examination and self-awareness can mean early detection which is life and breast-saving." she said.