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Although there is still no fundamental cure for dementia, the advent of a series of new drugs has expanded treatment options for patients.
However, it is vital for patients to be diagnosed in the early stages of their symptoms in order to be treated with the new drugs. From the standpoint of prevention as well, early detection is increasingly important.
Production and sales in Japan have been approved for donanemab, a drug developed by a major U.S. pharmaceutical company for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
The drug is said to remove substances in the brain that are believed to cause Alzheimer’s and suppress the progression of its symptoms. Another drug of the same type, lecanemab, was put to practical use last year.
Both drugs are said to be effective in delaying the progression of symptoms for about several months. The emergence of drugs that act on the causal substances must have been received with hope by patients and their families.
However, not everyone can use these drugs. They are available only to people with mild Alzheimer’s and people with mild cognitive impairment before the onset of dementia.
There is also a risk of side effects, such as brain swelling and bleeding. Doctors must thoroughly explain the characteristics of these medicines to patients and their families.
There are a number of cases in which a patient cannot receive the new drugs, even if they want to be treated with them, because of the degree to which their dementia has progressed. At the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology, one in three people who wished to be treated with lecanemab were unable to use the drug because they had passed the stage of mild symptoms of the disease.
Mild cognitive impairment is marked by such symptoms as memory loss and calculating numbers incorrectly, but this does not significantly interfere with patients’ daily lives. Therefore, in many cases, the disease has already progressed too far by the time the patients and their family members recognize the symptoms.
The number of people with mild cognitive impairment is estimated to increase to 5.64 million in 2025. Efforts to encourage early medical consultations are key to treatment.
Some municipalities are conducting their own efforts to check for the possibility of mild cognitive impairment by testing people’s memory and judgment. They recommend people whose test results are suspicious to visit medical institutions.
However, there is no established method of checking. The central government needs to encourage research on reliable, simple testing methods to help early detection.
Detecting abnormalities earlier is important, regardless of whether the new drugs are used. In the early stages, changes to one’s lifestyle are said to be able to slow the progression of the disease. Some cases have been reported in which patients were found to have mild cognitive impairment, but they returned to a healthy state.
Although there is no sure way to prevent dementia, high blood pressure, difficulty hearing, lack of exercise and isolation are some of the risk factors. It is important to reduce these elements.
