Every year, more than 40,000 people are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in Spain
Lecanemab, which is expected to reach Europe next year, is one of the most hopeful treatments to stop the progression of the disease.
Today, Thursday, like every September 21, is World Health Day. Disease of Alzheimer’s, a neurological disease that, according to estimates Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), about 800,000 people in Spain suffer from.
- It is the most common neurodegenerative pathology and also the most common cause of dementia in people over 65 years of age.
Spain is one of the countries in the world with the highest proportion of dementia patients among people over 60 years of age. And due to the increase in Life expectancy and the progressive aging of its population, the number of cases will continue to increase in the coming years. And it is that, It is estimated that in 2050 the current numbers will double.
In recent months, as explained by Dr. Juan Fortea, neurologist of the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona, nWe find ourselves facing a “paradigm change.” due to the appearance of a new treatment by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on an emergency basis: Lecanemab.
This drug is financed by Medicare, which could be equivalent to Social Security in Spain. If the European Medicines Agency gives its approval, “It could arrive in Europe next year.”
“It is not a medicine for everyone”
The last approved treatment for Alzheimer’s was in 2013, so the arrival of Lecanemab opens the door to hope for thousands of patientsmore than 40,000, who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s every year in Spain. Lecanemab is a monoclonal antibody which is marketed under the name Leqembi,
- It’s about a medication to slow down the symptoms of this disease (memory loss, personality changes, or difficulty communicating), which is administered by intravenously.
File – Pilar holds the hand of Valentín, her husband, who has Alzheimer’s.
| EUROPA PRESS – Archive
Unlike previous treatments, in capsules that patients could take at home, This drug requires going to a day hospital and “performing MRIs to avoid side effects.”.
The most common side effects reported during their study were:
- Headache
- Cerebral haemorrhagehence the importance of periodically performing MRIs
- Vision alterations
However, The neurologist indicates that Lecanemab It is not a treatment “suitable for all patients.” It is only useful in the earliest stages of the diseasealthough, however, it will be the specialist who will decide if it is the best option for each patient.
Drawing comparing the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient and a normal brain
| Image: Garrondo
“Alzheimer’s is not part of aging.”
Alzheimer’s is a very slowly progressive disease.
Dr. Fortea emphasizes that “aging is the main risk factor and that, as the years go by, the prevalence of the disease increases significantly.” In fact, 40% of people over 90 years of age suffer from Alzheimer’s.
But This does not mean that it is part of the normal process of getting older..
9 risk factors for suffering from Alzheimer’s
“It is estimated that half of cases of Alzheimer’s disease can be attributed to nine potentially modifiable risk factors:
- Mellitus diabetes
- Arterial hypertension in middle age of life
- Obesity in middle age of life
- Smoking, physical inactivity
- Depression
- Cognitive inactivity
- Low educational level
- Hearing loss
- “Social isolation.”
In Spain, about 40,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s are diagnosed every year
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Are there increasingly younger people with Alzheimer’s?
The quick and emphatic answer is NO.
What happens is that “now we diagnose better and we have better tools”, and it is also true that at the first symptoms many people go for a consultation to confirm if it is this disease.
In these cases, with mild cognitive impairment, biological labels are used to establish the presence of proteins related to Alzheimer’s disease. Only, of course, in those cases of early onset or with an atypical presentation.
Is Alzheimer’s hereditary?
Despite the important advances that have occurred in recent years, The causes of Alzheimer’s disease remain unclear..
Less than 1% of cases are generically determined. This means that 99% of cases are sporadic in which, from what is known so far, the disease is caused by an interaction between a genetic predisposition and environmental factors such as our lifestyle.
- “It has also been clearly demonstrated that If both of your parents had Alzheimer’s disease at an early age, you are at greater risk “What if you have two parents who have reached the age of 95 and have not had cognitive deterioration.”