The future of dementia and the important role of healthcare communication in raising awareness

This week in the UK marks Dementia Action Week, a national eventorganised by the Alzheimer’s Society that sees the public coming together to take action to improve the lives of people affected by dementia.

Dementia is a growing challenge and has become one of the most important health and social care issues in the UK. Today there are approximately 850,000 people living with the disease in the UK and this number is predicted to double by 2040 with a current economic cost estimated at £23 billion a year and predicted to triple by 2040.

While Alzheimer’s disease it the most common and well-known cause of dementia, with over 10 million cases globally, it is not the only one. There are different diseases that can cause dementia. These involve protein build-up and/or reduced blood flow in the brain that ultimately cause a progressive cognitive decline that can manifest as memory loss, language deficit and changes in mood and behaviour, among others.

There are few existing treatments for dementia and research remains pivotal.Prescribers and patients would of course welcome more effective and longer-lasting symptomatic treatments. Patients would benefit most from a disease-slowing or modifying therapy but symptomatic treatments with improved clinical profiles would also make a difference to their lives.

Progress was made in February 2018, when the FDA released a draft guidance document categorising Alzheimer’s disease into stages that define preclinical and prodromal disease based on biomarker, cognitive, and functional attributes. This allows for an accelerated approval for treatments based on biomarkers that are reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. While the pharmaceutical industry continues its search for treatments there is a need to educate healthcare professionals on the latest developments in biomarker research and how these can be used in clinical practice.

At Bedrock Healthcare Communications, we are proud and passionate to share our expertise in neuroscience. We in medical communication across neurological diseases every day, and this Dementia Action Week we are committed to help raise awareness and truly make a difference to all those affected by this condition.

If you share our passion, visit bedrock-health.com and start a conversation with us.

REFERENCES:

• Data monitor, Epidemiology AD, 26 August 2020
• https://issuu.com/rg10mag/docs/may-jun_2021/s/12170516
• https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/dementia/
• https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/dementia-action-awareness-week-2021/
• https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-involved/dementia-action-week#:~:text=Dementia%20Action%20Week%20is%20a,place%20on%2017%20%E2%80%93%2023%20May.
• https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/causes/
• Alzheimer's Society. Counting the cost. Caring for people with dementia on hospital wards. London: Alzheimer's Society; 2009. https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-05/Counting_the_cost_report.pdf. Accessed 15 July 2015.Return to ref 3 in article
• Prince M, Knapp M, Guerchet M, McCrone P, Prina M, Comas-Herrera A, et al. Dementia UK: report to the Alzheimer’s society. London: Alzheimer’s Society; 2014. https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/sites/default/files/migrate/downloads/dementia_uk_update.pdf. Accessed 15 July 2019.