On the occasion of the XXII World Day
At first it's some hole in the memory. Then those holes become a chasm and we get to delusions and hallucinations. Or with leaving the house unbeknownst to everyone and getting lost in thin air. And the Alzheimer's drama and senile dementia in general, listed as health emergency number one by the European health ministers in the Italian-led agenda for the semester.
Numbers justify the alarm more than words. In our country – say the data of the Higher Institute of Health – one million people are affected by some form of dementia that disrupts the lives of at least 3 million other family members. In all, 4 million people, which will double in 2020 and then triple in 2050, when one in five Italians will have to deal with Alzheimer's (600 cases in Italy) and similar pathologies. Above all, the aging of the population is to blame, given that over 80 years of age, dementia does not spare two out of ten elderly people. At the Campus Bio-Medico Polyclinic it is possible to evaluate patients extensively, also thanks to collaborations with nuclear medicine centers and neurogenetics laboratories. “In addition to periodic outpatient check-ups, in which the patient is evaluated in all his problems, family members are also provided with advice and indications in order to better face the disease and the consequences it causes in the patient's social and relationship life; in addition, family members can enjoy personalized psychological support”- explains the Prof. Vincenzo Di Lazzaro, Director of the Neurology Operative Unit.
"The research – continues the Professor - has made important strides in order to carry out an early diagnosis of the disease, mainly thanks to the use of markers in cerebrospinal fluid, genetic markers, advanced magnetic resonance techniques (volumetric and functional) and PET examinations with study of cerebral metabolism and recently, in an innovative way, with the use of specific markers for beta-amyloid, a toxic substance for neurons, which accumulates pathologically in the brain of subjects suffering from Alzheimer's disease".
Some innovative and low-cost neurophysiological investigation techniques, also allow to study the function of particular groups of neurons within the human brain in a non-invasive way, recording the effects produced by the magnetic stimulation of specific brain areas. “In our institute a research project is underway whose primary objective is to be able to diagnose Alzheimer's disease early and with low costs for the National Health Service, in order to make the therapies to contrast the progression of the disease more effective. of experimentation” - continues Prof. Di Lazzaro. "In this compound – explains the Professor - some investigation protocols make it possible to measure the activity of cholinergic neurons, whose function is specifically compromised in Alzheimer's disease compared to other forms of dementia. Impaired cholinergic circuit function in the form of mild cognitive impairment may also predict progression to Alzheimer's disease, and evaluating the effect of drugs on such cholinergic activity may help identify patients most likely to respond. to treatment. The combination of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques with the use of electrophysiological recording methods also allows the analysis of the electroencephalographic responses evoked by brain stimulation. An effective tool for the study of brain connectivity, considered primarily and early involved in this pathology".
"In short (Italian only) – concludes Prof. Di Lazzaro - we A number of tools are available today which, suitably integrated, can be support both in the identification of subjects at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, and in the evaluation of the effects of the drugs used for treatment of this neurodegenerative disease".
