2023-09-21 20:05:56
September 21 is World Alzheimer’s Day. The objective is to raise awareness among the general public of the realities of this disease which affects 150,000 people in Switzerland. More than 32,000 are diagnosed each year but science is progressing, particularly in terms of early diagnosis.
Alzheimer’s, a disease that we associate with old age but sometimes, it appears earlier, as with Philippe Duparc who testifies in the 7:30 p.m. of the RTS on Thursday. “The first signs were at work. I was missing instructions. I wasn’t doing all of what I was told. I didn’t understand why I was being blamed for it. It was really these signs that told me alert.” He was diagnosed shortly following celebrating his 50th birthday.
“It was terrible, I think it took me two years to get over it. It was really a word Alzheimer’s that brought me down, I thought my life was over. I told myself that I wouldn’t I’ll be more able to talk to my friends, my family, that I was going to be a wreck,” he adds.
Proteins might be involved
Although the cause of this disease remains unknown, it might originate from deposits created by proteins produced by the brain – Beta-amyloid and Tau – which prevent the connection between neurons and accelerate brain degeneration. Identifying them allows the diagnosis to be made.
“It took decades to identify the proteins. What changed the speed was the availability of biomarkers, the possibility of studying the dynamics, the change in amyloid and Tau in living organisms “, explains Professor Giovanni Frisoni, director of the Memory center at HUG.
Spotting brain damage
By analyzing biological samples, we can identify brain lesions. “Today, we are able to make very early diagnoses thanks to lumbar puncture and PET imaging,” specifies the specialist.
Symptoms appear 10 to 15 years following the first lesions. The future will be to diagnose as early as possible to allow better care. Today, there are medications that delay brain degeneration for a short time. But no curative treatment exists.
Philippe Duparc was able to slow the progression of the disease. He is testing an experimental treatment that is still debated, but which gives us hope.
TV subject: Delphine Misteli Maugué and Cecilia Mendoza
Adaptaion web: juma
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