New Cost-Effective Technologies for Prediction and Prevention of Dementia

Early detection is critical to prevention of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementias. However, post-hoc detection by MRI, PET, CSF, or CT tomography, and onset-delaying pharmaceutical treatments like lecanemab or donanemab, are unaffordable and unavailable for large populations. Our team of medical policy scholars sought diagnostic tools with lowest costs and psychological barriers, and non-prescription treatments effective and affordable for large elderly populations. For early detection before MCI/AD manifest, salivary acetylcholine and lactoferrin, urinary 5-HIAA acetic acid or AD7c-NTP, fecal acetic acid, lactic acid and ammonia, show predictive value rivalling tomography and other biomarkers at far lower cost. Recently, smartphone and laptop cameras can also be programmed to detect rapid eye movements that predict dementia before it manifests. To delay or prevent AD, targeting at-risk populations by subsidizing VR programs and dietary supplements should prove far more cost-effective than present diagnoses serving limited clientele with access to costly diagnostics and pharmaceuticals. Since dementia affects a huge and growing elderly population, public health and equity require affordable and widely available methods of early detection illustrated by recent research, and funding policies should prioritize accessible non-invasive methods of prediction and prevention.