When Tao Ran, who has always had a great memory, participated in a lecture in 2017, he found that he couldn't remember the speech that he recited repeatedly
The leader reminded, don't be nervous
After a period of non-drug intervention, Tao Ran discovered that the "eraser" hardly appeared anymore, and he was more willing to go out of the house, play Tai Chi, and join the chorus, with more smiles on his face
Take a patient like Tao Ran as an example.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common degenerative disease of the nervous system, most of which occur in 65 years of age and above, and it is the most common cause of Alzheimer's disease
The difficulty in the treatment of this disease is that its pathogenesis is not completely clear.
At present, any kind of intervention, whether medical or non-medical, can only delay the development of the disease, but it cannot be reversed
However, the domestic experts who attended the meeting pointed out that the golden "time window" of the preclinical stage can be seized to effectively control and delay the onset of disease, "there is only one opportunity
Golden "time window"
Golden "time window" Alzheimer's disease is an independent disease with a complete and continuous spectrum of diseases
In the field of cognition, the hippocampus is the first brain area damaged by Alzheimer's disease, which is manifested by hypothetical situational memory, which leads to "unrememberable forgetfulness" in patients, that is, mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Professor Han Ying, chairman of theChinese Alzheimer’s Disease Preclinical Alliance and chief physician of the Department of Neurology at Xuanwu Hospital, pointed out that before MCI, there is a subjective cognitive decline (SCD)-and this is the breakthrough point for intervention , Which is the key to the "secondary prevention" of Alzheimer's disease
Chairman According to the latest standards published by the Alzheimer's Disease Association of the National Institute of Aging in 2018, those who tested positive for amyloid beta but have not yet impaired cognition can be defined as preclinical SCD
Han Ying introduced that the patient has a compensatory function in the early stage and will not have obvious symptoms, but there are still two major characteristics, which are more significant
According to the circulation data published in The Lancet Public Health in 2020, the prevalence rate of Alzheimer's disease in China is 3.
PET targeting probes are expected to predict risks in advance
PET targeting probes are expected to predict risks in advance Han Ying said that after the clinical features of SCD appear, patients can go to the memory clinic or neurology department for clinical evaluation and neuropsychological evaluation, blood tests, and imaging examinations
Lu Su, a member of theNeurology Committee of the Radiology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and deputy director of the Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, said that in addition to traditional methods such as CT, cerebrospinal fluid or plasma biomarkers, and lumbar puncture, magnetic resonance (MRI) is used.
The representative non-invasive imaging technology is playing an increasingly important role in the clinical examination of cognitive impairment by virtue of its advantages of non-radiation, economical benefits, and rich information
.
Combined with a three-dimensional processing center based on artificial intelligence algorithms, it can also perform a more detailed quantitative analysis of the whole brain cortex, medial temporal lobe parietal cortex atrophy, and white matter damage
.
Committee member At the meeting that day, the experts also brought the research results of a national key subject that can realize the early diagnosis of preclinical stage-positron emission tomography (PET) technology
.
PET is currently the only nuclear medicine clinical examination technology that can perform function, metabolism and receptor imaging.
It is non-invasive and can provide three-dimensional images of the whole body and physiological and metabolic functions
.
The weapon that provides accurate imaging is a radiopharmaceutical called a "molecular probe
.
"
Professor Zhu Lin, a researcher who is engaged in radiopharmaceutical research and has obtained a number of national, provincial and ministerial invention patents, said that the emergence of PET targeting probes has rewritten the clinical diagnostic criteria and is expected to predict the risk of Alzheimer's 5 to 10 years in advance
.
Up to now, there are 3 types of beta amyloid plaque probes that have been verified and approved by the FDA for clinical use in the world
.
She pointed out that the treatment of Alzheimer's disease may worsen the cognitive ability of patients with other brain diseases.
Therefore, "accurate diagnosis is the key to providing patients with a reasonable treatment plan
.
"
At present, PET instruments are rarely used by medical institutions due to their high prices
.
But experts pointed out that in the future, with the development of science and technology, prices are expected to drop
.
The industry will also continue to explore cost-effective, high-accuracy early diagnosis technology and prediction system for Alzheimer's disease
.
Young people can't escape the nightmare
Young people can't escape the nightmare Alzheimer's disease has a hidden onset, a long incubation period, and a mystery of the pathogenesis, which makes people caught off guard
.
Using a 36-year-old female case, Lu Su said that although there is only about 1% of early-onset Alzheimer's disease, which seems to be a small proportion, it also deserves the attention of young and middle-aged people
.
In 2020, "The Lancet" published the "Lancet Specially Invited Major Report: On the Prevention, Intervention and Care of Dementia".
The 2020 report found that the adjustment of 12 risk factors may delay or prevent the occurrence of dementia cases.
They are: Lack of education (7%), hearing loss (8%), traumatic brain injury (3%), high blood pressure (2%), excessive drinking (1%), obesity (1%), smoking (5%), Depression (4%), social isolation (4%), lack of physical exercise (2%), air pollution (2%) and diabetes (1%)
.
Han Ying told The Paper that 40% of cases in China are attributable to the above factors.
Therefore, everyone should actively carry out "primary prevention" to control these risk factors
.
In December 2020, Chang Jile, director of the Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention of the National Health Commission , stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that according to 2019 data, the prevalence of depression in China reached 2.
1%, and anxiety disorders The prevalence is 4.
98%, and the prevalence of depression and anxiety is about 7%
.
State Council Han Ying pointed out that in recent years, people's pace of life and work pressure have increased significantly, and more and more mental illnesses are plagued by young people and buried hidden dangers
.
At present, in the preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease, in addition to drug intervention, non-drug intervention can also be used to delay disease progression, which is also applicable to primary prevention
.
Such as physical exercises based on meditation, meditation, yoga, and Tai Chi; Mediterranean diet based on light diet; aromatherapy based on essential oils and aromatherapy; round art planting; dance sports and so on
.
This article is an English version of an article which is originally in the Chinese language on echemi.com and is provided for information purposes only.
This website makes no representation or warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness ownership or reliability of
the article or any translations thereof. If you have any concerns or complaints relating to the article, please send an email, providing a detailed
description of the concern or complaint, to
service@echemi.com. A staff member will contact you within 5 working days. Once verified, infringing content
will be removed immediately.