As people are living longer across the world, memory loss has become an increasingly common problem. Health practitioners have suggested those suffering from it try everything from meditation to herbal remedies, like ginkgo biloba.

Now, a report released by the group Alzheimer’s Disease International, which is a nonprofit federation of more than 70 national groups, calls the growth of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia an emergency.

The study finds more than 35 million people across the globe are currently suffering from these diseases, about 10 percent more than was predicted a few years ago.

The increase is especially evident in low- and middle-income countries, where finally people are living long enough to face what is mostly a disease of the 65-and-older population.

Without a medical breakthrough, researchers project dementia will nearly double every 20 years.

Scientists aren’t even sure exactly what causes Alzheimer’s. Age is the biggest driver of the disease, and research has indicated that some of the same factors that trigger heart disease – such as obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes – seem to increase the risk of dementia as well.

A growing number of herbal remedies, vitamins and other dietary supplements are promoted as memory enhancers or treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related diseases. They include Coenzyme Q10, coral calcium, ginkgo biloba, huperzine A, phosphatidylserine and omega-3 fatty acids.