Importance of early diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease
Written by:Alzheimer's affects more than 30 million patients. Early detection of disease would be very important for the patient and his family, for better treatment and also for the socio-health system.
Incidence of Alzheimer's in the population
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common degenerative dementia. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there were 35.6 million patients with this disease, which will increase in 2030 to 65,700,000 and in 2050 will be about 115.4 million in 2012.WHO itself considered that an intervention to delay the start of EA five years, reduce the number of current patients by half.Moreover, we know that the higher evolution of the disease, greater economic and social costs generated. All this has led WHO to promote early identification programs.
Why is it important early diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease
Diagnose early Alzheimer's is very important:1) For patients and their families by providing:- Theoretical and practical information, sufficient time- Emotional Preparation- Family financial planning and staff- Social Planning
2) For a better treatment:- Drug Treatments. Current drugs are more effective the sooner it is used. Future drugs are being implemented through studies in newly diagnosed disease patients.- Adjusting the feed as important to the quality of life of patients element.- Implementation of cognitive stimulation- Implementation of occupational therapy
3) For the socio-health system:We now know that early identification of Alzheimer's patients and their treatment save costs and provide health benefits, compared to delayed treatment or lack thereof.Such early diagnosis reduces the costs of personal health care. They have been calculated € 4,400 per patient and also reduce social costs € 9,500 per patient.
For all these reasons, and for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, it is considered important to consult an expert in Neurology in the presence of memory problems or other cognitive impairment (difficulty finding words, temporal or spatial disorientation, difficulty perform daily activities, difficulty recognizing familiar people or places ...) that have a clear impact on activities of daily living.
