MANILA, July 10 — For millions of families across Asia and around the world, the shadow of Alzheimer’s disease has long been one of slow, heartbreaking decline — a condition for which medicine could offer only symptom management, never a true halt. That picture is now shifting, and the change is rooted in hard science. Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia.
In the United States alone, the Alzheimer’s Association estimated that 6.7 million Americans aged 65 and older were living with the disease in 2023. The global burden is immense: the World Health Organization put the worldwide cost of dementia at $1.3 trillion in 2019.
For communities across the region, where extended families often shoulder caregiving, these numbers carry real weight. The disease is characterized by two hallmark abnormalities in the brain: amyloid-beta plaques and tau tangles. For decades, researchers debated whether clearing these protein deposits could actually slow cognitive decline.
The answer, it now appears, is yes.
A turning point in treatment
In September 2022, the pharmaceutical companies Eisai and Biogen announced results from their Phase 3 Clarity AD trial of a drug called lecanemab. The study showed that patients receiving the anti-amyloid antibody experienced a 27% slower cognitive decline over 18 months compared to those on a placebo, as measured by the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes. That may sound modest, but for families watching a loved one lose ground month by month, a 27% slowing is a meaningful gain.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval for lecanemab, sold under the brand name Leqembi, in January 2023. That was followed by traditional approval in July 2023, cementing its status as a disease-modifying treatment — the first of its kind approved for Alzheimer’s.
Not long after, Eli Lilly’s donanemab showed similar promise. In May 2023, results from the Phase 3 TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 trial demonstrated a 35% slowing of decline in patients with low-to-intermediate tau levels. Both drugs target the underlying amyloid pathology rather than just symptoms, marking a fundamental shift in how the medical community approaches this disease.
What this means for families
For families across Asia, where dementia rates are rising alongside aging populations, these developments offer something that was scarce before: hope grounded in data. The Alzheimer’s Association also reports that 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. That statistic underscores why disease-modifying treatments are not just a laboratory curiosity — they are a pressing public health need.
Closer to home, the question of access remains. These drugs require regular intravenous infusions and careful patient selection, often based on biomarker testing.
For many communities in the region, the infrastructure for such care is still developing. Still, the science has crossed a threshold. The era of treating Alzheimer’s as a condition beyond medical intervention is ending.
The global dementia cost of $1.3 trillion in 2019, as estimated by the WHO, is a reminder of the economic toll as well. But with treatments now available that slow progression, there is a path toward reducing that burden — for health systems, for caregivers, and for patients themselves. Consult your doctor for medical advice.
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