It is with the aim of ‘not forgetting’ Alzheimer’s that, a few days before World Alzheimer’s Day on September 21, Lilly, with the patronage of Aima, the Italian Alzheimer’s Association, Sin, the Italian Society of Neurology, and Sindem, an autonomous association adhering to Sin for dementia, launches the awareness campaign ‘Think about it, so as not to forget it’. The initiative – presented today in Rome in a meeting of sharing and discussion between representatives of the clinical world, patients and institutions – proposes to rewrite the current narrative of Alzheimer’s disease, promoting greater awareness of the first symptoms of the disease so as to make an early diagnosis increasingly frequent, which is essential for intervening on the progression of the disease and ensuring a better quality and life expectancy for people who live with it. The disease affects approximately 600 thousand Italians.
At the heart of the campaign is a video, for the involvement of a wide ecosystem of social and digital channels, which integrates an emotional part, based on excerpts from the novel ‘Elegy for Iris’ by John Bailey, read by the voice of the actor Luca Ward, able to engage on an intimate and emotional level, and a scientific part. The latter clearly explores the need for awareness of the first signs of disease and for medical experts to take charge through the voices of Alessandro Padovani, director of the Neurological Clinic of the University of Brescia and president of Sin, Annachiara Cagnin, head of the Center for Cognitive Decline and Dementia of the Neurological Clinic of the Hospital-University of Padua and secretary of Sindem, and Patrizia Spadin, president of Aima.
Alzheimer’s disease, a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that predominantly affects the brain, with a range of symptoms that affect both cognitive and functional abilities, can progress slowly over 10 to 20 years from a non-symptomatic preclinical stage to severe dementia, with an increasing impact on daily life. People who experience mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia, when due to the disease, may be described as having early symptomatic disease. Receiving a diagnosis early in the disease progression gives these people, their loved ones, and their physicians more time to make personal and medical decisions, as well as the opportunity to make lifestyle changes and intervene early.
Globally, the number of people aged 50 and over with clinical Alzheimer’s disease or at risk of developing it is estimated to be around 416 million, or more than one in 5 people (22%). In Italy, there are an estimated 1 million people with dementia and around 3 million directly involved in their care. Alzheimer’s affects around 600 thousand Italians and has an economic burden of around 15 billion euros per year. However, despite the importance of these numbers, which are destined to grow also due to the progressive aging of the population, people with dementia receive an accurate and timely diagnosis in less than 20% of cases due to the unpreparedness of healthcare systems and the stigma of the disease that delays the first access to the diagnostic pathway.
“Alzheimer’s disease often begins with small signs, which are sometimes not easy to notice,” says Padovani. “Sometimes, especially in older people, these small deficits are not recognized: forgetting where you parked your car, giving different names to people you know, or even just changing habits. Sometimes these are subtle signals that are difficult to intercept. It is important not to downplay or believe that all of this is normally linked to aging, because it can be the sign, instead, of a disease like Alzheimer’s disease that involves a continuous worsening.”
Today we are faced with an unprecedented scenario. “For the first time, scientific research is about to provide solutions that can interfere with the progression of Alzheimer’s disease,” observes Cagnin. “We are moving from having solutions that act on the cognitive or behavioral symptom to treatments that can slow the progression or delay the onset of symptoms if used in an early phase of the disease. For this reason, if you experience persistent or recurring warning signs, it is important to contact your GP or specialist, to start even simple tests that allow you to understand the risk, the state of health of the brain, the possible diagnosis and, if necessary, the pharmacological treatment of today and tomorrow.” In this reality, “family members are the first to realize the changes taking place in people with Alzheimer’s – adds Spadin – Today it is important that their attention changes, learning to pick up not only the symptoms of the disease, but also the first signs of cognitive deterioration. This can lead to a diagnostic assessment path that will allow for a better life, more protected for both the patient and the caregiver who will have to follow and accompany him in the years to come. Our society as a whole must also take on the task, at this time, of becoming a sentinel of good health for everyone, supporting, within the institutions, the construction of prevention and diagnosis paths. The time has come for the history of Alzheimer’s disease and the patients who are affected by it to finally change”.
“For 35 years, Lilly has been a global pioneer in the search for treatments and diagnostic methods for people affected by Alzheimer’s disease,” said Elias Khalil, president and CEO of Italy Hub, Lilly. “Since we began research on this disease in November 1988, we have invested more than $8 billion, including more than $5 billion in the last 10 years, including over 10,000 patients in clinical trials, sponsoring or co-sponsoring 9 phase 3 clinical trials and others currently underway. For over 30 years, Lilly has not forgotten the people affected by Alzheimer’s disease, and its goal is to make the disease a distant memory.”
Alzheimer’s disease “is at the heart of our commitment as an Intergroup – recalls Senator Beatrice Lorenzin, co-president of the Parliamentary Intergroup for Neurosciences and Alzheimer’s – Also in light of the significant impact of Alzheimer’s not only on the healthcare system, but on the overall socio-economic development of the country, it is essential to strengthen the early identification of patients, in order to optimize fair and timely access to care and guarantee the sustainability of the system”.
“The guarantee of the highest standards of diagnosis, access and treatment – specifies the Honorable Annarita Patriarca, co-president of the Parliamentary Intergroup for Neurosciences and Alzheimer’s – is the objective target of a healthcare system that aims to combine efficiency and effectiveness, even in a constantly evolving sector such as that of health protection. Great commitment and active collaboration between all the actors involved are necessary and to improve the care of patients, through greater access to new diagnostic and technological developments and therapeutic innovations. Making possible the early interception and treatment of diseases currently without a cure and with a high prevalence and social hardship such as Alzheimer’s disease is the fundamental objective of our Intergroup and our work on this continues every day with determination”.
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