Dementia affects more than 35.6 million people[1] worldwide and these numbers will significantly rise in the future. Alzheimer’s disease is the most important cause of dementia: about 70% of the patients suffering from dementia also suffers from this disease, which deprives patients of their humanity and keeps them from growing old with dignity. Alzheimer and dementia put an enormous strain on healthcare and cost society more than € 438[2] billion every year. According to Prof. Dr. Christine Van Broeckhoven this dementia tsunami can only be stopped by developing a treatment which can slow down, stop or even prevent the progression of the disease.
Thirty years ago, the world faced the global crisis of HIV/AIDS. It was a complex disease that was little understood, spreading, and claiming the lives of people all over the world. An HIV diagnosis meant a certain death. Today, thanks to broad collaborative efforts like these, HIV patients can have a near to normal life expectancy. The world now faces another major crisis: Alzheimer’s disease. It is complex, not yet well understood, and claims the very being of what makes us human. “A lot of scientific progress has been made, but we must not underestimate the enormous challenge and the amount of research still to be done”, says Husseini Manji, Global Head Neurosciences at Janssen.
Irreversible
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. It is a disorder of the brain causing the cells in certain parts of the brain to stop working (properly). As a result the cells die, which eventually leads to brain tissue shrinkage. Alzheimer’s disease is irreversible. Symptoms include forgetfulness, behaviour changes, speech loss and disorientation in space and time.
Alzheimer is priority
Together with psychiatry Alzheimer’s disease is a spearhead within the therapeutic domain of neuroscience. Alzheimer is a priority due to the unmet medical need and the challenges of an ageing population. “At Janssen we believe that through extreme collaboration we can make significant progress. We have done it before in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and we can do it again”, says Chief Scientific Officer, and Worldwide Chairman, Janssen in his blog of 19 December 2013.
A Belgian medicine against Alzheimer, that would be a dream come true.
Joining forces
Janssen and the lab of Bart De Strooper (VIB-KU Leuven) have been a team for some years now. Together they look for new research and treatment methods for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. This type of collaboration across corporate borders creates a whole flow of new opportunities. Both partners together have an enormous potential to conduct pioneering and stimulating scientific research. “A Belgian medicine against Alzheimer, that would be a dream come true”, according to Bart De Strooper.
“In order to solve Alzheimer, we have to join forces. And continue to invest in research on the most complex disease in the most complex organ. One thing we cannot do, is give up”, says Theo Meert, Head of Neurosciences at Janssen in Belgium.
Sources:
[1] World Health Organisation. Media Centre. Dementia.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs362/en/
[2] http://www.blogjnj.com/2013/12/a-global-push-to-end-alzheimers/