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Every September is World Alzheimer’s Month.
Every year, the Alzheimer’s Association International (ADI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) designate September 21st and September as the “World Alzheimer’s Day” and the “World Alzheimer’s Month”, respectively. The “Time to act on Alzheimer’s” dementia awareness campaigns are conducted in those periods.
In terms of Alzheimer’s disease treatment trends in Japan, with the availability of Recanemab in December 2023 and several other drugs in development, changes in the diagnosis and treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease are expected in the future.
Continuing from last year, CareNet and Macromill CareNet conducted a survey of 180 physicians (91 specialists and 89 nonspecialists) among CareNet members who treat patients with early Alzheimer’s disease in conjunction with World Alzheimer’s Month.
<Survey period> 2024/07/01
- The most common change in the practice of Alzheimer’s disease compared to before the launch of the new drug (one year ago) was an “increase in requests for early consultation and consultation from patients (families),” followed by “more patients referred by local medical institutions” and “more preventive activities for dementia by doctors. On the other hand, only about 10% of physicians saw an increase in proposals for “PET examinations for suspected patients” and “early treatment”.
- The most common benefit from the launch of the new drugs was “more treatment options,” followed by “earlier diagnosis and treatment of dementia” and “easier recommendation of treatment to patients and families.
- The most common concern about the diagnosis and treatment of MCI was “about judging risks and benefits, such as effectiveness of treatment and cost of testing and treatment, and safety”. Compared to last year, the number of physicians who felt this was a concern among non-specialists increased. Similar to last year, 30-40% of physicians felt concerned about “the reliability of the current general MCI diagnostic criteria” and “the diagnostic criteria for MCI prior to PET diagnosis.”
- While it is clear that the launch of new drugs has had an impact on both patients and physicians’ behavior toward early detection and prevention, it is also clear that there are barriers to aggressive new drug recommendations. As PET testing and treatment will increase in the future, there is a need for diagnostic criteria that will help determine which patients will be eligible for testing and treatment.
What information channels do you use to obtain information about new drugs for disease?
Similar to last year, “Medical information websites” was the most common response to the question “What information channels do you use to obtain information on new drugs for early Alzheimer’s disease?”, with 63% of specialists and 74% of non-specialists responding to this question. This was followed by “Lectures by pharmaceutical companies” and “MRs of pharmaceutical companies”.
Compared with the previous year, the number of specialists obtaining information from “medical information websites” and “pharmaceutical company lectures” decreased slightly, while the number of specialists obtaining information from “physicians” increased.
Among non-specialists, “academic journals/medical magazines and books” decreased, while obtaining information from “websites” increased.
[Table1] Route for obtaining information on new drugs for disease
How has your practice of treating Alzheimer’s disease changed compared to that before the launch of the new drug for early stage Alzheimer’s disease (one year ago)?
The most common response to the question “What has changed in your practice since before the launch of the new drug?” was “increased requests for early consultation and consultation from patients (family members)” (41%) among specialists, followed by “increased referrals from local medical institutions” (20%).
Among non-specialists, the most common response was “more requests for early consultation and consultation from patients (family members)” at 28%, followed by “more preventive activities for dementia from doctors” at 19%. This suggests that early detection and prevention by family doctors has advanced.
* The previous year’s survey asked about expected changes after the launch of new drugs.
[Table2] Changes in the launches of new drugs for early stage Alzheimer’s disease
Compared to the “expected changes” at the time of last year’s survey, all of the items were lower than expected among specialist physicians. In particular, only about 10% of the physicians increased in “began to recommend PET examinations to patients with suspected AD” and “began to recommend treatment with new drugs to patients at an early stage. Among non-specialists, the percentages of implementation of “requests for early consultation/consultation from patients” and “increased preventive activities for dementia from physicians” were close to those assumed. However, as with the specialists, the number of physicians who increased their suggestions for “PET scan for suspected patients” and “early treatment” was small.
[Table3] Changes with the launch of a new drug for early Alzheimer’s disease
[Table4] Physicians benefit from launching new drugs
What concerns do you have about the diagnosis and treatment of MCI after the release of a new drug?
The most common response to the question “About judging the risks and benefits, such as the effectiveness of treatment and the cost of testing and treatment, and safety,” was 55% for specialists and 61% for non-specialists. Compared with the previous year, the number of non-specialists who felt this was a concern increased.
Other concerns were the same as last year, with 30-40% of physicians having concerns about “the reliability of the current general MCI diagnostic criteria” and “the diagnostic criteria for MCI prior to PET diagnosis”.
Last year and this year’s surveys revealed that the launch of new drugs has influenced both patients’ and physicians’ behavior toward early detection and prevention, but also revealed that there are barriers to aggressive new drug recommendations. As PET testing and treatment will increase in the future, there is a need for diagnostic criteria that will help determine which patients will be eligible for testing and treatment.
[Table5] Concerns about the diagnosis and treatment of MCI after the launch of a new drug
[Table6] Number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease by department
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