Prevention of Alzheimer's disease starts at a young age. Screening can be performed after the age of 45

People's Daily Online, Beijing, September 14 (Reporter Xu Xinyi) The theme of this year's World Alzheimer's Month is "3 Seconds of Memory". In order to popularize the knowledge of Alzheimer's disease prevention and treatment to the public and call on the society to pay attention to Alzheimer's patients, the "Beijing First Memory Walk Large-scale Advocacy Event and Alzheimer's Month Launch Ceremony" was held in Beijing on the 11th. Yu Hua, Vice President and Secretary General of the China Association of Geriatric Care, said in his speech that as my country enters an aging society, we will face increasingly severe practical problems. We hope that by launching the Alzheimer's Memory Walk event, more people will be mobilized to participate in the movement to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease, and work together to build a healthy, happy, friendly and dignified aging society.

Beijing's first large-scale memory promotion event and the launch ceremony of Alzheimer's Disease Month (Photo by Xu Xinyi)

It is understood that this activity is themed "Understanding Alzheimer's Disease, Preventing Alzheimer's Disease, Treating Alzheimer's Disease, Caring for Alzheimer's Disease, and Paying Attention to Alzheimer's Disease". Through the memory health station at each station, public welfare activities such as Alzheimer's disease knowledge popularization, medical and nursing Q&A, and activity experience are carried out. Four experts from the Alzheimer's Disease Branch of the China Association of Geriatric Care explained the relevant scientific knowledge of Alzheimer's disease to reporters on the spot.

After the age of 45, you can undergo health memory screening to detect and treat it early.

In recent years, the incidence of Alzheimer's disease, with memory loss as the main symptom, has been rising year by year, and has become one of the major diseases that seriously threaten the health and quality of life of the elderly. The disease most often occurs in people over 65 years old, and the consultation and treatment rates are low, which has brought a heavy burden to society.

How to detect Alzheimer's disease early? Professor Sun Yongan, Secretary General of the Alzheimer's Disease Branch of the China Association of Geriatric Care and the Department of Neurology of Peking University First Hospital, suggested that people around 45 years old with a family history and diabetes can go to the memory disorder clinic for healthy memory screening if they have the conditions. "Because the onset of many elderly dementias usually reaches its peak after the age of 65, screening can detect risk factors in advance, so early detection and early treatment can have certain benefits in delaying the patient's condition. Usually when patients show symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, it is often in the late stage. At that time, neurons have been destroyed in large numbers, and it is very difficult to improve. At that time, it is too late to treat."

Professor Sun Yongan pointed out that long-term and effective lifestyle intervention can prevent Alzheimer's disease. Prevent malnutrition in childhood, prevent hearing loss, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and diabetes in middle age, prevent hypotension and social isolation in old age, and strengthen intellectual training. In addition, regular exercise and maintaining a healthy diet, eating more vegetables, more unsaturated fatty acids, and less high sugar and oil are also beneficial to preventing Alzheimer's disease.

Patients should not stop taking medication at will, and should not stop taking medication for more than two months

At present, the goal of clinical treatment of Alzheimer's disease is to delay the progression of the disease, alleviate the symptoms of the patients, improve the quality of life of the patients, and reduce the burden on the caregivers. There are two major categories of drugs commonly used to treat Alzheimer's disease. The first is cholinesterase inhibitors, which inhibit the activity of cholinesterase to increase the transmission of acetylcholine between neurotransmitter synapses, thereby improving cognitive function; the second category is N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists such as memantine hydrochloride, which mainly improve patients' cognitive, language and mental behavioral symptoms by inhibiting neurotoxicity.

Professor Jie Hengge, chairman of the Alzheimer's Disease Branch of the China Association of Geriatric Care and a professor at the Department of Neurology of the General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, pointed out that some patients take medication irregularly and have poor compliance, which will have a negative impact on the treatment effect of the disease. "In one case, the family members find that the patient's condition has not been greatly relieved after taking the medication for a period of time, and they feel that the medicine is useless and stop taking it; in another case, the patient is unwilling to take the medicine and feels that he does not need to take it." Jie Hengge said, "If you feel that the medicine does not have much effect, you can try to stop taking it under the guidance of a doctor and observe the condition. But it is recommended not to stop taking the medicine for more than two months, otherwise it may delay the treatment and aggravate the condition."

Prevention should start from a young age to overcome bad habits

Regarding the prevention of Alzheimer's disease, Professor Wang Yinhua, Honorary Chairman of the Alzheimer's Disease Branch of the China Association of Geriatric Care and Professor of Neurology at Peking University First Hospital, emphasized that prevention of dementia should start from a young age (20s or 30s) and overcome unhealthy lifestyles. "Prevention is better than cure. Keep your brain healthy and stay away from Alzheimer's disease! Young people should not be kidnapped by mobile phones and other electronic devices. Don't just "human-computer communication". Encourage face-to-face "interpersonal communication" between people to keep the brain active! Because the function of the brain is "use it or lose it."

Professor Wang Huali, executive vice chairman of the Alzheimer's Disease Branch of the China Association of Geriatric Care and director of the Institute of Mental Health at Peking University (Peking University Sixth Hospital), stressed that drug treatment alone is not enough for Alzheimer's disease, and a complete treatment system is needed. He suggested that related supporting service measures should cover the entire population. At the same time, he called on the whole society to participate in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Experts interviewed: Yu Hua, Vice President and Secretary General of China Association of Geriatric Care, Sun Yongan, Secretary General of Alzheimer's Disease Branch of China Association of Geriatric Care and Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, Xie Hengge, Chairman of Alzheimer's Disease Branch of China Association of Geriatric Care and Department of Neurology, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Wang Yinhua, Honorary Chairman of Alzheimer's Disease Branch of China Association of Geriatric Care and Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, Wang Huali, Executive Vice Chairman of Alzheimer's Disease Branch of China Association of Geriatric Care and Department of Neurology, Peking University Institute of Mental Health (Peking University Sixth Hospital)