More than 1 in 10 elderly people 'Dementia···70% of people 'Alzheimer's disease'
Sep 25, 2024
Around the world, dementia is emerging as a serious social problem due to increased life expectancy and elderly population.
Dementia is a degenerative brain disease that appears mainly in the elderly over the age of 65, and one in 10 elderly people suffer from dementia as of 2023 in Korea. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Central Dementia Center, as of March this year, the number of senior citizens aged 65 or older exceeded 10 million, of which 1,052,977 were dementia patients. In addition, according to statistics from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of patients who received dementia treatment in Korea increased by 22.3% over the past four years from 551,845 in 2019 to 674,963 in 2023. Even though the dementia problem is getting more serious, there is no fundamental dementia treatment yet, and when dementia symptoms appear, the disease has already progressed considerably. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to slow down the progression to appropriate treatment through early diagnosis.
Dementia is a disease that interferes with daily life by making it difficult to judge or perform tasks on one's own as the cognitive function of a person who was living normally decreases. It refers to a case in which various intellectual abilities such as memory, language ability, space-time grasping ability, judgment, and abstract thinking ability have deteriorated. More than 70% of dementia patients suffer from Alzheimer's disease (hereinafter referred to as Alzheimer's disease), the most common degenerative brain disease that causes dementia.
The exact mechanism and cause of Alzheimer's disease is not yet clear, but the formation of neurofiber knots consisting of amyloid-beta protein and hyperphosphorylated tau protein that accumulate abnormally in the brain is known to be the main cause. Alzheimer's disease is characterized by developing very slowly and progressing gradually. Memory decreases in the early stages of the outbreak, and in the middle of the outbreak, various cognitive functional abnormalities such as language function and judgment are accompanied. Mental behavior symptoms such as personality changes, anxiety behavior, depression, delusions, hallucinations, increased aggression, and sleep disorders are often accompanied in the process, and neurological disorders such as walking abnormalities and physical complications such as infections and bedsores may appear at the end of the day.
The problem is that Alzheimer's disease gradually worsens, making it difficult to detect early symptoms, and when symptoms appear with the naked eye, dementia is often quite advanced. Since there is no way to reverse or improve the progression of brain damage if diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, it is necessary to focus on slowing down the progression through early diagnosis and active management before dementia worsens. In fact, accurate diagnosis is essential in the early stages of the disease because the effect can be maximized only when used after accurate diagnosis in the early stages of the disease.
If Alzheimer's disease is suspected, cognitive and behavioral abilities are evaluated through interviews with guardians and patients, and cerebrovascular disease and brain atrophy are checked through brain imaging (MRI, PET CT, etc.). However, PET CT (positron emission tomography) test, a conventional diagnostic method, measures the amount of radiation generated after injecting a drug composed of radioactive isotopes (FDG-F18) into the body, and has the disadvantage of carcinogenesis and cost and diagnosis time if there is repeated large exposure to radiation. In addition, there are limitations even if there is claustrophobia because it is necessary to undergo an examination in an enclosed space.
Recently, two types of Alzheimer's disease marker tests (CSF tests)', which are reasonable in time and cost because they can detect both the biomarkers 'amyloid-beta' and 'tau protein' with a single test without exposure to radiation, are in the spotlight. The test reflects the fact that Alzheimer's disease changes the concentration of amyloid-beta and tau proteins accumulated in brain tissue in the cerebrospinal fluid, and observes this characteristic change in concentration to diagnose Alzheimer's disease early.
In addition, two Alzheimer's disease marker tests were conducted on 277 patients who had mild cognitive symptoms and were not unreasonable to conduct two amyloid PET CT tests and two Alzheimer's disease marker tests, and showed high positive agreement rates (PPA, 90.9%) and negative agreement rates (NPA, 89.2%) with existing amyloid PET CT results. This proves that two Alzheimer's disease marker tests can replace conventional PET CT tests.
Ahn Sun-hyun, a specialist in diagnostic laboratory medicine at the GC Green Cross Medical Foundation, said, "Dementia is a disease that causes mental and economic pain not only to the patient himself but also to the family, and active treatment through early diagnosis should be prioritized"If anyone around you is suspected of Alzheimer's disease, I recommend you to take two Alzheimer's disease marker tests (CSF tests)" that can be tested to avoid radiation exposure."
Dementia is a degenerative brain disease that appears mainly in the elderly over the age of 65, and one in 10 elderly people suffer from dementia as of 2023 in Korea. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Central Dementia Center, as of March this year, the number of senior citizens aged 65 or older exceeded 10 million, of which 1,052,977 were dementia patients. In addition, according to statistics from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of patients who received dementia treatment in Korea increased by 22.3% over the past four years from 551,845 in 2019 to 674,963 in 2023. Even though the dementia problem is getting more serious, there is no fundamental dementia treatment yet, and when dementia symptoms appear, the disease has already progressed considerably. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to slow down the progression to appropriate treatment through early diagnosis.
Dementia is a disease that interferes with daily life by making it difficult to judge or perform tasks on one's own as the cognitive function of a person who was living normally decreases. It refers to a case in which various intellectual abilities such as memory, language ability, space-time grasping ability, judgment, and abstract thinking ability have deteriorated. More than 70% of dementia patients suffer from Alzheimer's disease (hereinafter referred to as Alzheimer's disease), the most common degenerative brain disease that causes dementia.
The exact mechanism and cause of Alzheimer's disease is not yet clear, but the formation of neurofiber knots consisting of amyloid-beta protein and hyperphosphorylated tau protein that accumulate abnormally in the brain is known to be the main cause. Alzheimer's disease is characterized by developing very slowly and progressing gradually. Memory decreases in the early stages of the outbreak, and in the middle of the outbreak, various cognitive functional abnormalities such as language function and judgment are accompanied. Mental behavior symptoms such as personality changes, anxiety behavior, depression, delusions, hallucinations, increased aggression, and sleep disorders are often accompanied in the process, and neurological disorders such as walking abnormalities and physical complications such as infections and bedsores may appear at the end of the day.
The problem is that Alzheimer's disease gradually worsens, making it difficult to detect early symptoms, and when symptoms appear with the naked eye, dementia is often quite advanced. Since there is no way to reverse or improve the progression of brain damage if diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, it is necessary to focus on slowing down the progression through early diagnosis and active management before dementia worsens. In fact, accurate diagnosis is essential in the early stages of the disease because the effect can be maximized only when used after accurate diagnosis in the early stages of the disease.
If Alzheimer's disease is suspected, cognitive and behavioral abilities are evaluated through interviews with guardians and patients, and cerebrovascular disease and brain atrophy are checked through brain imaging (MRI, PET CT, etc.). However, PET CT (positron emission tomography) test, a conventional diagnostic method, measures the amount of radiation generated after injecting a drug composed of radioactive isotopes (FDG-F18) into the body, and has the disadvantage of carcinogenesis and cost and diagnosis time if there is repeated large exposure to radiation. In addition, there are limitations even if there is claustrophobia because it is necessary to undergo an examination in an enclosed space.
Recently, two types of Alzheimer's disease marker tests (CSF tests)', which are reasonable in time and cost because they can detect both the biomarkers 'amyloid-beta' and 'tau protein' with a single test without exposure to radiation, are in the spotlight. The test reflects the fact that Alzheimer's disease changes the concentration of amyloid-beta and tau proteins accumulated in brain tissue in the cerebrospinal fluid, and observes this characteristic change in concentration to diagnose Alzheimer's disease early.
In addition, two Alzheimer's disease marker tests were conducted on 277 patients who had mild cognitive symptoms and were not unreasonable to conduct two amyloid PET CT tests and two Alzheimer's disease marker tests, and showed high positive agreement rates (PPA, 90.9%) and negative agreement rates (NPA, 89.2%) with existing amyloid PET CT results. This proves that two Alzheimer's disease marker tests can replace conventional PET CT tests.
Ahn Sun-hyun, a specialist in diagnostic laboratory medicine at the GC Green Cross Medical Foundation, said, "Dementia is a disease that causes mental and economic pain not only to the patient himself but also to the family, and active treatment through early diagnosis should be prioritized"If anyone around you is suspected of Alzheimer's disease, I recommend you to take two Alzheimer's disease marker tests (CSF tests)" that can be tested to avoid radiation exposure."
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