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Comment and Health

Next-generation technology is a critical mid-step in dementia care

New technologies will radically change the experience of living with and caring for someone with Alzheimer's, says Professor Fiona Carragher, chief policy and research officer at Alzheimer's Society, UK

By Fiona Carragher

9 October 2024

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Simone Rotella

The past few years have seen outstanding progress in medication for previously incurable conditions. Most pertinent for me is the approval of lecanemab for use in the UK and elsewhere to slow the progress of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. It isn’t a cure, but it brings us closer to dementia becoming a chronic condition managed with drugs.

But while lecanemab has been hailed as a game changer, it isn’t yet readily available and, in the meantime, 55 million people are living with dementia globally. By 2050, that will grow to 139 million. It is one of the biggest medical…

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