- Dementia affects more than 55 million people worldwide, costing around $1.3 trillion per year.
- The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, affects up to 70% of these people.
- New treatments are most effective if started early in the progression of the disease, but diagnosis is difficult at this stage as early symptoms are often dismissed as normal changes due to aging.
- Now, a new study has developed a deep learning framework that can identify the risk of progressing from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s.
In 2019, according to the
By 2050, the study predicts that the number will have risen to more than 150 million. And most of those people will have Alzheimer’s disease.
The cost of dementia is huge, placing enormous strains on care systems and families. Worldwide, annual costs are estimated to be
Until recently, available treatments could alleviate symptoms, but none could slow or halt the progress of the disease.
New monoclonal antibody treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, such as lecanemab, aducanumab, and donanemab, have been hailed as the first disease-modifying treatments.
They can clear the
However, these treatments are effective only if they are given early in the course of the disease. And therein lies the problem, as current diagnosis, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, relies largely on documenting mental decline, and the condition is rarely diagnosed before significant damage to the brain has occurred.
Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease, such as
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