Education and early detection of any type of dementia is important and may provide an opportunity for changing the course of care, promoting the use of effective interventions, and increasing quality of life. Because there is currently no cure, we all need to understand the many factors that could cause it.
This coming weekend is the 2024 Walk to End Alzheimer's -- Rocky Mountain taking place in the town of Eagle at the Eagle Pavilion. The event starts Saturday, Sept. 21 at 9 a.m. for registration and the walk will begin around 10 a.m. This will be a fabulous event on Saturday morning to be followed up with a live music event at The Capitol Public House with music by The Evolution.
If you haven't yet donated to the cause, please do. There will be many local organizations committed to senior services participating in the event -- all in hopes of not only finding a cure, but also to raise money and to provide educational material. New research has not only proven that diet and lifestyle changes may assist in delaying the onset of cognitive decline, but new technologies are finding success in testing and biomarkers that detect signs of the disease.
People need to feel comfortable discussing concerns about their memory -- not just with their medical provider(s), but also with their family and friends. It's important that we, as a society, help promote an awareness about cognitive health and changes in memory. This includes education and an understanding of the warning signs of cognitive impairment and common misinterpretations about Alzheimer's and other dementias.
Detection of memory concerns can be accomplished both observationally and medically. Observationally, the Alzheimer's Association has identified 10 warning signs. Here are the top five:
Medically, there are several new, non-invasive methods to detect early signs of concern. Research and development using AI technology called AIRAscore is improving the accuracy of identifying Alzheimer's Disease by assessing brain volume with the use of MRI scans. As well, there are ocular tests that look at and diagnosis tears, corneal nerves, retina, visual function and eye movement tracking. Such testing is showing promise in being able to detect early AD. In addition to the AIRIAscore and ocular testing. There have been successful advancements with simple and non-invasive testing of one's blood for Alzheimer's. Evidence suggests that signs of Alzheimer's disease could be detected in the blood many years before symptoms start. Such testing evaluates the accumulation of amyloid-beta plaques within brain cells, tau protein tangles inside brain cells, in addition to brain cell death (known as neurodegeneration). One such test, PrecivityAD2, has been approved for doctors to use in people who exhibit symptoms of Alzheimer's in the US.
Access to new technologies is now becoming more prevalent. And, while new and available medications are proving to be successful, they do not cure the disease. New medications like aducanumab (Aduhelm), lecanemab (Leqembi), and donanemab-azbt (Kisunla) have demonstrated that removing beta-amyloid from the brain assist in reducing cognitive and functional decline by removing beta-amyloid, people need to understand that the disease can be mitigate by choosing better lifestyles.
Granted, while age may be the biggest risk factor for any type of dementia, there is a plethora of evidence that there are things people can do to reduce one's risk. For example, keeping one's brain active and stimulated by maintaining hobbies, interests and social interaction along with maintaining a quality diet, stopping smoking, moderating excessive alcohol consumption, and increasing exercise may help keeping the disease at bay.
More research is needed before medical professionals know specific ways to prevent Alzheimer's. However, there are some steps to be taken that will promote good overall brain health and mitigate the onset of the disease.
Please come support The Walk and enjoy the music from The Evolution this Saturday.