Alzheimer’s: 5 steps towards early diagnosis and new treatments for patients

Alzheimer’s is now a public health priority: in Europe, there are an estimated 9 million people with dementia, a figure set to rise to over 14 million by 2050. In Italia, there are over a million people affected, around 60% of whom have Alzheimer’s, with a significant impact on families, carers and the sustainability of the welfare system. Dementia is associated with a high care burden and global costs exceeding $1.3 trillion, whilst in Italia the total cost is estimated at around €23 billion a year.

That is why, together with 11 other countries, we have signed an international consensus document setting out the five priorities that must now guide the management of this condition. The ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between scientific innovation and patients’ actual access to diagnosis and treatment.

The data on Alzheimer’s disease highlight an urgent challenge for individuals, healthcare systems and societies – a challenge that can no longer be ignored. It is therefore necessary to: integrate diagnosis into standard care pathways, align organisational and reimbursement models to ensure fair and timely access to innovative therapies, strengthen the capacity of the healthcare system, adopt long-term planning and consolidate coordination between countries.

The new document stems from the realisation that Alzheimer’s has entered a new phase. Although there is no definitive cure, new therapies are now available which, by targeting the biological mechanisms of the disease, can slow its progression and delay cognitive decline, particularly when administered in the early stages. It is precisely here that biological diagnosis, thanks to the advent of new blood biomarkers, plays a decisive role: it allows the disease to be detected much earlier and enables a more precise identification of the patient group likely to benefit from these therapies. Alongside symptomatic treatments, a new approach is therefore emerging with the potential to alter the course of the disease, provided that intervention is timely. Research is already looking further ahead, towards even earlier interventions, before the onset of symptoms: a scenario that makes it urgent to build healthcare systems ready to support this progress.

Alzheimer’s treatments open up new possibilities and require a rigorous approach to assessing their clinical impact. The challenge is to strike a balance between access to innovation and patient protection, in the interests of the many families affected by a condition such as Alzheimer’s. In this regard, dialogue between institutions, the scientific community and patients – such as that which took place with Mindshift – is essential for defining appropriate, safe and sustainable methods of use.