Alzheimer disease symptoms treatment: Can Alzheimer's be prevented? Doctors, health experts say yes, prescribe ways to check dementia

Billions of dollars have been spent trying to find a treatment for Alzheimer's disease over the decades, but those efforts have stubbornly fallen short -- at least until recently. But the expensive treatments are only modestly effective, and work only for patients at an early stage of the disease. There can also be serious side effects including potentially deadly brain haemorrhages.

After decades of unsuccessful research, two new drugs and a pioneering blood test have recently given Alzheimer's patients hope of fighting back against the debilitating disease -- but questions remain about their effectiveness. Any path toward a cure also remains elusive for Alzheimer's, which accounts for around 70 percent of dementia cases worldwide and is a leading cause of death among the elderly.

Can Alzheimer's be Prevented?


What makes people more at risk of getting Alzheimer's disease and dementia more broadly? Nearly half of all cases are linked to factors such as obesity, smoking, drinking alcohol, physical inactivity and hearing loss, according to an expert review in The Lancet last year.

There is an increasing amount of research seeking to determine whether programmes encouraging people to exercise and eat better are effective at fighting Alzheimer's.

But so far the randomised controlled trials "targeting these risk factors have shown limited to no effects on cognitive decline or dementia", Richard said.

A recent JAMA study found that the cognitive decline of Alzheimer's patients slowed slightly after undergoing two years of intensive support to be healthier.

For people suffering from Alzheimer's and their families, this kind of progress may not look like much, French epidemiologist Cecilia Samieri acknowledged at a conference this month.

But compared to where things were just a few years ago, "it's already huge", Samieri said. She said she believed that only trials lasting 10 to 15 years could really show how effective such interventions could be against long-developing diseases such as Alzheimer's.

FAQs

Q1. What are new medicines for Alzheimer?
A1. Eli Lilly's donanemab and Biogen and Eisai's lecanemab are the first treatments proven to significantly slow the progression of Alzheimer's.

Q2. What is Lecanemab?
A2. Lecanemab, which is sold under the brand name Leqembi, has been approved in many countries including the United States.