Global Health Labs, Bellevue, WA, USA.
Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology, The University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
J Alzheimers Dis. 2021;84(4):1453-1455. doi: 10.3233/JAD-210663.
Dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are global health crises, with most affected individuals living in low- or middle-income countries. While research into diagnostics and therapeutics remains focused exclusively on high-income populations, recent technological breakthroughs suggest that low-cost AD diagnostics may soon be possible. However, as this disease shifts onto those with the least financial and structural ability to shoulder its burden, it is incumbent on high-income countries to develop accessible AD healthcare. We argue that there is a scientific and ethical mandate to develop low-cost diagnostics that will not only benefit patients in low-and middle-income countries but the AD field as a whole.
痴呆症和阿尔茨海默病(AD)是全球性的健康危机,大多数受影响的个体生活在低收入或中等收入国家。虽然针对诊断和治疗的研究仍然完全集中在高收入人群,但最近的技术突破表明,低成本的 AD 诊断可能很快成为可能。然而,随着这种疾病转移到那些最没有财力和结构能力承担其负担的人群身上,高收入国家有责任开发可及的 AD 医疗保健。我们认为,有必要开发低成本的诊断方法,这不仅将使低收入和中等收入国家的患者受益,而且对整个 AD 领域都有益。