La demenza affligge oggigiorno più di 47 milioni di persone, un numero destinato a triplicare entro il 2050, stando all'Organizzazione mondiale della sanità, la quale poi precisa che l'età media dei pazienti è di 60 anni.
Per fare il punto a Ginevra è in corso un vertice a cui partecipano ministri, ricercatori, medici e rappresentanti di associazioni non governative.
Il morbo di Alzheimer è la causa scatenante più comune (il 60-70% dei casi), ma ci sono diverse altre forme. Ogni anno si registrano 7,7 milioni di nuovi malati. L'impatto sul piano economico è enorme: nel 2010 il costo stimato ha raggiunto i 604 miliardi di dollari, pari all'1% del prodotto interno lordo planetario (lo 0,6% solo considerando le spese dirette). Attualmente non esistono cure, ma molto può essere fatto per aiutare gli interessati, a partire dalla diagnosi precoce.
ATS/dg
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