Overview

• Recurrent forgetfulness, repeated questions, getting lost in familiar places, misplacing items, and difficulty managing finances should prompt a consultation, according to Mayo Clinic guidance.
• Alzheimer’s is the leading neurodegenerative dementia worldwide with about 40 million affected, and local estimates in Gipuzkoa point to 13,400 patients today rising to roughly 37,000 by 2050.
• Experts say the exact cause remains unknown and likely reflects multiple vascular, inflammatory, infectious and other processes converging.
• Deterministic genetic forms represent under 1% of cases, with most being sporadic in which heredity influences risk but does not decide outcomes.
• Although the European Medicines Agency has approved two new drugs, Spain currently lacks commercially available disease‑modifying treatments and existing medicines do not halt progression.