“Diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease early provides patients an opportunity to begin treatments that may slow the progression of the disease.” - Dr. Michael Irizarry, Senior Vice President, Clinical Research, Neurology, Deputy Chief Clinical Officer, Clinical Evidence Generation (CEG), Deep Human Biology Learning (DHBL) at Eisai Inc.
The brain changes of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) begin 20 years or more before memory loss and other symptoms develop.1 By the time people experience symptoms as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD or mild AD dementia, both their cognition and function may be impaired—potentially affecting their ability to remember things, problem solve or complete daily activities independently.1
Due to the chronic, progressive nature of this disease, timely diagnosis is critical.1 Even seemingly minor changes in cognition can mean the difference between slight impairment and more significant loss of independence.1,2 While there aren’t any treatments that stop AD, the emergence of innovative therapies for early AD offers patients a treatment approach that can slow the rate at which AD progresses so they can continue enjoying their hobbies and spending quality time with loved ones for longer.3
Better understanding the mechanism of AD can help put into perspective why early intervention and ongoing treatment is vital for this relentless disease. AD is caused by a continuous underlying neurotoxic process initiated with the harmful buildup of amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaque, and can continue after plaque is removed from the brain.4,5 The formation of these plaques is the result of a continuous process by which individual Aβ proteins join together, latching onto each other one at a time, like adding links to a chain.5 The most toxic of the soluble chains is called a protofibril.5 Protofibrils cause injury to neurons in the brain, which in turn, can negatively impact cognitive function.6 It is believed the reduction of protofibrils may slow the progression of AD by reducing damage to neurons in the brain and cognitive dysfunction.6 Early diagnosis and treatment initiation can slow the progression of the disease - once AD progresses to middle and late stage, you may not have access to the same treatment options.1
Eisai is committed to furthering the field of AD research and treatment.
“Diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease early provides patients an opportunity to begin appropriate treatments that can alter disease progression,” said Dr. Irizarry. “Continuing therapy over the long-term may offer the most benefit of the treatment to slow the progression of the disease and potentially maintain more time with their loved ones.”
Dr. Michael Irizarry, Senior Vice President, Clinical Research, Neurology, Deputy Chief Clinical Officer, Clinical Evidence Generation (CEG), Deep Human Biology Learning (DHBL) at Eisai Inc
To learn more about Alzheimer’s disease and the importance of early diagnosis, visit https://www.understandingalzheimersdisease.com/about.
This article was written by Eisai.
References
1. Alzheimer’s Association. 2024 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. Alzheimers Dement. 2024;20(5):3708-3821.
2. O’Bryant SE, Waring SC, Cullum CM, et al. Staging dementia using Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes scores: a Texas Alzheimer’s research consortium study. Arch Neurol. 2008;65(8):1091-1095.
3. Alzheimer’s Association. Treatments and Research. Accessed February 6, 2025. https://www.alz.org/help-support/i-have- alz/treatments-research
4. Habashi, M., Vutla, S., Tripathi, K., et al. Early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease by targeting toxic soluble Aβ oligomers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 2022; 119(49):e2210766119.
5. Hampel H, Hardy J, Blennow K, et al. The amyloid-β pathway in Alzheimer’s disease. Mol Psychiatry. 2021;26(10):5481-5503.
6. Ono, K., & Tsuji, M. Protofibrils of Amyloid-β are Important Targets of a Disease-Modifying Approach for Alzheimer's Disease. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(3), 952.
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