A more accurate blood test and the existence of a form of arthritis are among potential diagnostic areas that international medical experts have identified
in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.
Arthritic inflammation in other parts of the body might be seemingly unrelated to Alzheimer's, but research indicated it could worsen the disease, a three-day dementia
conference that ended in Hong Kong yesterday heard.
Prevention is key as medical science still has no cure for the age-related illness, which now affects 36 million people throughout the world. The World Health Organisation
estimates the total will double every two decades.
In Hong Kong, Alzheimer's afflicts one in three residents over the age of 85 - but research on the subject was lacking in the city, mainland China and other Asian countries,
said Professor Nancy Ip Yuk-yu, dean of the University of Science and Technology's science school.
Dr Maria Carrillo, chief science officer of the US-based Alzheimer's Association, said: "The financial stress on the family and the health care system is really intolerable
today and is not going to be manageable in the future - unless we solve this problem.
"People can live with dementia for up to 20 years. But after the third year, they are most likely to require 24-hour care that is extremely expensive."
Ip and Carrillo were among more than 20 experts discussing the irreversible condition, whose cognitive problems include speech impairment and memory loss, at the event hosted
by the university and the US-based association.
The number of local patients is expected to double every five years amid a rapidly ageing population - meaning Alzheimer's could affect some 280,000 people by 2036.
No treatment exists even to delay the condition's progression. Specialists require lots of data just to arrive at a diagnosis, determine the severity of the problem and seek its cause.
Ip said the situation was particular relevant to the city and would threaten the health care system as the population was rapidly ageing.
Carrillo said that international specialists at the conference had shared encouraging progress in understanding the disease and identified some research areas.
The blood test, developed by American researchers last year, was 90 per cent accurate in predicting whether a person would develop dementia in a few years, Carrillo said.
The test sought to detect 10 bio-markers in the blood that were linked to the disease and many countries had approved its use, she said.
She hoped the new test would become widely used as the diagnostic tool for dementia.
In addition, British research suggested patients suffering from a certain type of arthritis, in which the joints are inflamed, might be at greater risk of developing dementia, Carrillo said.
The finding could offer insights into the causes of dementia and help researchers develop targeted medication.
"From the public health perspective, all of the countries must work together to solve this problem," she said.
SCMP
International experts target Alzheimer's gains at Hong Kong conference
A more accurate blood test and the existence of a form of arthritis are among potential diagnostic areas that international medical experts have identified in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.
Arthritic inflammation in other parts of the body might be seemingly unrelated to Alzheimer's, but research indicated it could worsen the disease, a three-day dementia conference that ended in Hong Kong yesterday heard.
Prevention is key as medical science still has no cure for the age-related illness, which now affects 36 million people throughout the world. The World Health Organisation estimates the total will double every two decades.
In Hong Kong, Alzheimer's afflicts one in three residents over the age of 85 - but research on the subject was lacking in the city, mainland China and other Asian countries, said Professor Nancy Ip Yuk-yu, dean of the University of Science and Technology's science school.
Dr Maria Carrillo, chief science officer of the US-based Alzheimer's Association, said: "The financial stress on the family and the health care system is really intolerable today and is not going to be manageable in the future - unless we solve this problem.
"People can live with dementia for up to 20 years. But after the third year, they are most likely to require 24-hour care that is extremely expensive."
Ip and Carrillo were among more than 20 experts discussing the irreversible condition, whose cognitive problems include speech impairment and memory loss, at the event hosted by the university and the US-based association.
The number of local patients is expected to double every five years amid a rapidly ageing population - meaning Alzheimer's could affect some 280,000 people by 2036.
No treatment exists even to delay the condition's progression. Specialists require lots of data just to arrive at a diagnosis, determine the severity of the problem and seek its cause.
Ip said the situation was particular relevant to the city and would threaten the health care system as the population was rapidly ageing.
Carrillo said that international specialists at the conference had shared encouraging progress in understanding the disease and identified some research areas.
The blood test, developed by American researchers last year, was 90 per cent accurate in predicting whether a person would develop dementia in a few years, Carrillo said.
The test sought to detect 10 bio-markers in the blood that were linked to the disease and many countries had approved its use, she said.
She hoped the new test would become widely used as the diagnostic tool for dementia.
In addition, British research suggested patients suffering from a certain type of arthritis, in which the joints are inflamed, might be at greater risk of developing dementia, Carrillo said.
The finding could offer insights into the causes of dementia and help researchers develop targeted medication.
"From the public health perspective, all of the countries must work together to solve this problem," she said.
東方日報
關節炎藥或可治腦退化
【本報訊】腦退化症（又稱認知障礙症）足以影響患者的認知能力及日常生活。專研分子神經科學及腦退化症的香港科技大學理學院院長葉玉如指，多項國際性研究已指出，炎症與腦退化症有關，英國亦有藥物研究發現，一種治療關節炎的藥物，消炎同時可減輕腦退化症症狀。專家期望日後研發出驗血確診腦退化症的方法，可助及早預防。
驗血診斷法研究中
葉玉如指，現時本港六十五歲人口中，每十二人便有一人患此症，八十五歲以上人士更每兩人便有一人，發病率達五成，更有研究推測，至二○五○年，患者將由十多萬人增至三十萬人。科大聯同美國阿茲海默症協會舉行為期三天的阿茲海默症研討會，葉玉如總結，國際學者未來將集中研究炎症與腦退化症的關係。
出席研討會的美國阿茲海默症協會副會長Maria Carrillo指，英國最新發表的藥物研究，將三十名同時患關節炎及腦退化症的患者分組，其中一組服食關節炎藥物，另一組人則不服任何藥物；廿四周後，服關節炎藥物的患者炎症減半，腦退化症狀亦顯著減少。科學界仍未找到炎症與腦退化症的因果關係， 但相信血液內的炎症因子水平可成為腦退化症的生物標記，或有助研發出驗血確診方法。葉玉如補充，現時利用腦掃描或更準繩的脊髓液抽驗可診斷腦退化症，不過後者費用昂貴，如能研發驗血測試，將有助檢測普及化。