There are about 1.2 million Italians living with a form of dementia. Of these, 600,000 have to deal with Alzheimer’s, the most common cause of degenerative dementia worldwide. The costs related to these diseases are significant: they amount to 23 billion per year, and 63% of the economic burden falls on families. This was recalled by the Italian Society of Neurology ahead of World Alzheimer’s Day, which is celebrated on Monday, September 21. However, thanks to advances in research, it is possible to intervene to prevent the onset of the disease by working on some risk factors, from social isolation to depression, including smoking and sleep quality.
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What it is about
“Alzheimer’s is not an inevitable consequence of aging but a complex neurodegenerative disease that must be recognized and addressed as early as possible,” explained Mario Zappia, president of the Italian Society of Neurology.
This disease, in fact, is a primary degenerative dementia that causes neurons to progressively die, thus interrupting the production and distribution of neurotransmitters, chemical substances that carry messages within the brain. It begins to manifest gradually, often after the age of 60, but in juvenile forms it can start around 40 years old. However, the incidence rate increases with age and becomes very common beyond 80 years.
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Prevention
Recently, however, as recalled by the Italian Society of Neurology, the field of Alzheimer’s has seen significant progress take shape. First of all, it has been discovered that the disease is not an inevitable fate. According to the Sin president, in fact, about half of the cases are “potentially avoidable or delayable.” To curb the risk of onset of this form of dementia, it has been understood that it is necessary to intervene on some health risk factors (hearing and vision loss, hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, smoking, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, alcohol consumption, head injuries), social (social isolation, low education level) and environmental (air pollution).
Prevention is therefore crucial: neurologists advise monitoring blood pressure and cholesterol, not smoking, protecting vision and hearing, and engaging in regular physical activity. It is also essential to maintain cognitive stimuli and relationships, associating all these habits with good quality night sleep, a time when the brain remodels its activities. “Until a few years ago, the neurologist intervened mainly when the disease had already manifested, today, thanks to research progress, it is possible to reverse the course of the disease,” concluded Zappia.
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