Redfield: Response needed for coming Alzheimer’s crisis
In the early s men and women in the prime of their lives began arriving at Walter Reed Medicinal Center wrecked by a illness for which we had no name no cause and no hope Those early stages of the AIDS epidemic were marked by fear confusion and stigma It took years to understand what was happening to learn that HIV infection was not merely a exposure factor for AIDS but the same condition at an earlier stage Now we know that HIV can be a manageable chronic condition when treated and people with HIV can live normal lives without becoming critically ill Nowadays the generation that survived that emergency is aging into the next residents wellness exigency Alzheimer s malady affects more than million Americans and cases are expected to nearly double by We have poured billions of dollars into scientific research and clinical innovation already We know enough to lay the groundwork for a national response to Alzheimer s and reduce suffering for millions By learning from the AIDS epidemic we can bring about the day when Alzheimer s is no longer a death sentence but a manageable condition The Food and Drug Administration this year approved a blood test for Alzheimer s that presented greater than accuracy in clinical studies Researchers are now using similar tests in clinical trials to identify people even before overt clues appear These tests fundamentally change our understanding of the malady just as the HIV test did for AIDS The question of when Alzheimer s begins is not a theoretical one It sets the starting line for diagnostics and cure options Earlier detection means more opportunity for early-stage interventions which can extend independence and quality of life for people living with Alzheimer s We now have two FDA-approved anti-amyloid therapies shown to slow cognitive decline when used soon after effects start They are now being studied before clues appear In addition up-to-date research has shown that a mix of better nutrition exercise and blood pressure control can measurably improve cognitive robustness Just as the federal administration took coordinated action as HIV AIDS science evolved we need an urgent and unified response to the coming Alzheimer s situation The road map is largely a matter of updating procedures to match the current science For example it can expand access to early detection and cure so millions of aging Americans have options during the early window when intervention is greater part effective Over my career nothing has been more powerful than witnessing the transformation of HIV AIDS from a death sentence to a chronic treatable condition We have the chance to do the same with Alzheimer s Dr Robert R Redfield a former Centers of Condition and Control Prevention director spent years at Walter Reed Therapeutic Center He is associate director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Tribune News Function
