A task force for diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease
in Latin America and the Caribbean

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia worldwide, with an increasing prevalence due to the aging population. Globally, approximately 55 million people have dementia, and this number is expected to increase to 78 million by 2030. The World Health Organization’s global action plan aims for at least half of all nations to diagnose 50% of the expected number of people with dementia by 2025.

People with dementia and their caregivers can face barriers such as lack of access to specialized diagnostic tests, lack of knowledge by physicians to establish a diagnosis, and the belief that nothing can be done. The potential utility of new biomarkers is lower in lower middle-income countries; there is a limit to the budget available for research and the use of biomarkers would likely imply a trade-off between quality of measurement and other research needs. Thus, the biomarkers necessary for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease are currently unavailable in most Latin American countries.

To investigate this issue of timely diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in Latin America, the Americas Health Foundation conducted a virtual meeting with seven experts in the field of neurosciences from Latin America to develop a manuscript to assess the gaps and provide actionable steps to close them. The resulting manuscript, “A task force for diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease in Latin America and the Caribbean,” has been published in Frontiers Neurology. Click here to read.

Lead authors: Francisco Lopera and Nilton Custodio.

The following Expert Highlight Videos are part of our dissemination campaign surrounding the manuscript, "A Task Force for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease in Latin America." These videos serve as powerful tools in our mission to amplify awareness, enhance education, and elevate the urgency of addressing Alzheimer's disease within Latin American countries.

Featuring esteemed experts from Latin America who contributed to the Consensus Conference and authored the publication, these videos provide insight into the manuscript's key findings. Tailored to specific target audiences, each expert—Dr. Ricardo Allegri (Argentina), Dr. Alberto Mimenza (Mexico), Dr. Francisco Lopera (Colombia), and Dr. Nilton Custodio (Peru)—offers invaluable perspectives on Alzheimer's disease within our region.

Watch the videos now to gain valuable insights.