In the world, Alzheimer's disease affects about 40 million people and in Italy alone there are over one million and two hundred thousand cases of dementia, 720 thousand of which are linked to this specific pathology.
Over the age of 80, the disease affects 1 in 4 elderly people. These numbers are set to rise due to the increase in life expectancy, especially in developing countries: cases are estimated to double every 20 years.
In Italy, according to some projections, the number of patients in 30 years is destined to triple.
On the occasion of World Alzheimer's Day, 21 September, an important novelty is the hope of finding an effective drug, and not just one that treats the various symptoms.
A hope that is rekindled after the stop, in March 2019, of tests on a drug deemed promising, Aducanumab, and after the FDA reviewed the data and readmitted the drug dossier for a second evaluation.
"It will take spring 2021 to understand the results".
This is explained by Professor Gioacchino Tedeschi, president of the Italian Society of Neurology.
Aducanumab is a monoclonal antibody that has been shown to be effective in removing the accumulation of beta amyloid, the cause of the disease, at a very early stage of the disease.
In Italy alone, there could be 500,000 potential candidates for the drug, in a phase of mild cognitive impairment because in the full-blown phase it has already been shown that it is not effective. "This - explains Tedeschi - poses a challenge to health services: intercepting patients" .
Also for this reason, the Interceptor project was born three years ago, which, as explained by the manager, Professor Paolo Maria Rossini, director of the Department of Neuroscience - neurorehabilitation of the Irccs San Raffaele in Rome, "sees Italy as the first country to world that aims to identify a set of biomarkers capable of intercepting those who will develop the disease, when it has not yet inexorably affected the 'neural reserves' ".
In general, the search for biomarkers in neurological diseases has made progress thanks to the development of ultra-sensitive methods and on this, for example, the Irccs Fatebenefratelli of Brescia works.
Another issue is how patients and families have dealt with the lockdown.
According to a research by the Italian Society of Neurology for Dementia (SINdem), restrictions have induced a worsening of behavioral disorders in patients with dementia. "In fact - adds Rossini - the fundamental human rights of people with dementia have been strongly compressed: by access to hospital care and intensive care admissions, not always guaranteed to patients who had limited chances of survival. There have been several foreign experiences to make the elderly feel less isolated: from technology for contacts with relatives to the possibility of meeting them at The normal diagnosis and treatment of elderly people with various forms of cognitive decline has been substantially interrupted at all levels ".
On the occasion of the day, which has as its claim "Dementia, let's talk about it", Eugenio Finardi dedicated his music and his testimony as a caregiver to the Alzheimer Federation of Italy.
While from 17 to 30 September it will be possible to support the research of Airalzh Onlus - Italian Association for Alzheimer's Research, in particular on sleep disorders and the incidence on development in dementia, thanks to the "Non ti scordar di te" initiative in supermarkets and hypermarkets Coop from all over Italy.
(HANDLE).
