Alzheimer’s: From Treating Symptoms to Preventing Disease
Alzheimer’s disease, once considered an inevitable part of aging, is now recognized as one of the greatest medical and social challenges of our time. For decades, our approach to Alzheimer’s has been focused mainly on treating its symptoms—memory loss, confusion, and behavioral changes—rather than addressing the underlying causes that lead to the disease in the first place. However, emerging scientific evidence suggests that the roots of Alzheimer’s begin decades before the first clinical signs appear. It is time to shift our focus from treatment to prevention, from late intervention to early action. A Disease That Starts Long Before It Shows By the time Alzheimer’s symptoms become apparent, much of the brain damage has already occurred. Studies using brain imaging and biomarkers reveal that amyloid plaques and tau tangles—two of the main pathological features of Alzheimer’s—start developing 15 to 20 years before noticeable memory problems appear. This means that waiting until a...