Dementia is a real social emergency and a public health priority; in fact, 55 million people are affected worldwide, 2 million in Italy alone. It is estimated that the number of people suffering from these pathologies is 1 million and 100 thousand with dementia and 900 thousand with a mild cognitive disorder. In addition to the patient, however, we must also consider the families and caregivers who live this situation: the numbers, therefore, are growing dramatically, reaching a total of 4 million people involved. Future projections are also alarming: in 2050 it is estimated that cases will have tripled in relation to the increase in life expectancy; it must also be considered that the‘Alzheimer It does not only affect elderly people, because there are cases of early Alzheimer’s among subjects aged between 30 and 60.
And in view of the World Alzheimer’s Day, which is celebrated every year September 21st, Airalzh Onlus (Italian Alzheimer’s Research Association)r), on the occasion of its tenth anniversary of foundation, presented – in Rome at the Ministry of Health – a awareness campaign to invite the population to be more aware of the benefits of correct lifestyles, and to adopt them also as a prevention for dementia. Among others, the co-presidents of the Inter-parliamentary Group for Neuroscience and Alzheimer’s, the deputy Annarita Patriarca and the senator Beatrice Lorenzin, were present.
The campaign aims to offer ad hoc information tools, namely informative notebooks downloadable from the website www.prevenzione.airalzh.it to follow a healthy lifestyle, with particular reference to the importance of physical exercise, a balanced diet and good quality sleep. Written in a simple and immediate way, the informative notebooks based on the most recent scientific research aim to raise awareness among all citizens on correct lifestyles for the prevention of dementia.
Airalzh decided to launch the awareness campaign following a survey, carried out on behalf of the association by Walden Lab, on the perception of Alzheimer’s disease in the Italian population. It emerged that, despite 49% of the population being worried that the disease could affect them personally or one of their loved ones in the future, only 1 in 10 Italians declared themselves “very informed” about this disease, the majority of the population said they were interested in learning more about it. In particular, among the most interesting data from the survey, analyzing the risk factors, it turned out that only a little more than 3 in 10 Italians consider a healthy lifestyle useful for preventing the onset of the disease.
“Prevention, both primary and secondary, is a duty – says Sandro Sorbi, past president of Airalzh and director of Neurology I at the Careggi University Hospital in Florence – We need to show the population the importance of adopting some lifestyle measures such as: physical activity, nutrition, sleep, but also cognitive stimulation and the importance of relationships. The World Health Organization, in this regard, recently published a document that indicates 12 recommendations for possible interventions on medical conditions that predispose to dementia and cognitive decline and that must be prevented and treated”.
It is suggested that, for example, “the habit of smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, an unbalanced diet or the control of certain diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, hypercholesterolemia – lists Sorbi – may be implicated in the onset of dementia and, in general, cognitive decline. Therefore, from the point of view of a real and effective public health response, for a disease such as dementia – which is still a condition without a cure, even if it is possible to slow down the progression of the disease – not only are early diagnosis, treatment and support essential, but also risk reduction strategies, such as pursuing a healthy lifestyle”.
“In these 10 years of activity, the results have been achieved thanks to the contribution of large and small donors who have supported us, allowing us to finance, initially from 2016 to 2019, 82 research grants – recalls the president of Airalzh Onlus, Alessandra Mocali – To these grants were added in the following years 26 projects of young researchers under 40 with the Airalzh Grants for Young Researchers (Agyr) and 2 projects for mid-career researchers supported in collaboration with the Armenise Harvard Foundation. In the current year, 3 calls have been published: Agyr, the first Airalzh Starting Grants that aims to finance translational medicine projects, and the first call on Art-therapy, using donations linked to the use of drawings by a patient, thus arriving at a total investment of over 4 million euros for research”.
Since its foundation, “Airalzh has actively promoted and encouraged research in the field of Alzheimer’s disease, especially among young people – underlines Alessandro Padovani, founding member of Airalzh and president of the Italian Society of Neurology – There is still a lot to understand about the causes of the disease, even if in recent years we have understood the role of risk factors, genetic factors, and some mechanisms related to the neurodegenerative process. Although we do not yet have curative therapies capable of preventing the onset of the disease or of stopping its evolution, several studies seem to indicate that the goal is not so far away and that we will soon be able to have combinations of drugs capable of slowing down the clinical course”.
Among the “various studies that Airalzh has funded – adds Padovani – I would like to point out the results of the research of some young people on the use of biomarkers as a means for an early diagnosis in normal subjects and a definition of the pathological mechanisms in subjects who are already ill, to testify that biomarkers are today indispensable for finding precise drugs; particularly interesting is the data on microplastics and nanoplastics identified in human tissues and also at the brain level, supporting the role of pollution not only of the air, but also of the environment as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Airalzh’s commitment to research continues. We are convinced that, to arrive at a tomorrow without Alzheimer’s, it is necessary to follow the path of basic and clinical research”.
Founded when there was still no national network for research on Alzheimer’s, in the first 10 years Airalzh Onlus chose to focus its research mainly on early diagnosis and prevention. Developing tests for early and timely diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and identifying risk factors and correct lifestyles to prevent the onset of the disease are in fact the topics at the basis of the research projects that over 60 Airalzh researchers have developed in recent years.
So much so that some of these researchers – Emanuele Rocco Villani, a geriatric medical director at the Modena Local Health Authority; Monica Bucciantini, associate professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences at the University of Florence, and Biancamaria Guarnieri, a neurologist, board member of Aims (Italian Sleep Medicine Association), board member and coordinator of the study group ‘Sex and gender differences in dementia’ of Sindem (an association for dementia adhering to the Italian Society of Neurology) – have contributed to drafting the scientific information that is the basis of the awareness campaign presented today.
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