The dementia epidemic
Every three seconds, someone in the world develops dementia, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI). Although Alzheimer’s disease is the cause of nearly two-thirds of dementia cases, it remains largely a mystery to science. Unfortunately, most people still believe that the disease is a normal part of aging rather than a neurodegenerative disorder. About half of people living with dementia report feeling ignored by healthcare professionals. The treatment prospects are not optimistic – existing medications do not eliminate the causes, but only the symptoms of the disease.
Alzheimer’s is a complex disease. It affects not only the patient, but also their entire environment. Initially, the patient may experience problems with short-term memory, difficulty speaking, or mood swings. As the disease progresses, they have increasing difficulty functioning independently, slowly lose the ability to read and communicate with others, and their long-term memory is also impaired.
Dementia affects 3% of the entire population over the age of 65, but every five years or so, this rate doubles. This means that nearly 70% of people over the age of 90 struggle with such conditions. According to the WHO, in 2019 dementia was diagnosed in 55 million people worldwide. By 2050, this number could reach nearly 140 million. That is why every discovery in this field can be a breakthrough.
Promising discovery by Polish chemists
Research carried out by Prof. Anna Zawadzka and a team of scientists from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Warsaw led to the discovery of a new chemical compound—a promising candidate for a drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, this compound can also be used as an effective diagnostic tool. This, in turn, has the potential to increase the possibilities for early detection of the disease and enable the uncovering of the greatest mysteries of Alzheimer’s.
First, there was CHDA – a compound created as a by-product of the synthesis of heterodimer tacrine-melatonin. The tacrine was previously one of the substances used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, melatonin is a sleep hormone. This combination achieved satisfactory results at a dose 600 times lower than that of tacrine alone. The researchers added nanoradiogold particles to CHDA. This chemical compound also exhibited fluorescent properties, which, as further research showed, allow it to be precisely tracked in the patient’s body.
“We believe that the most interesting aspect is the combination of therapeutic and diagnostic functions. This is where the breakthrough nature of our solution largely lies. It is also in line with the general trend of so-called personalized medicine. This trend calls for tailoring therapy to a specific patient rather than treating a ‘statistical patient’,” explains Prof. Anna Zawadzka.
When will the drug begin to cure?
According to regulations, new drugs require approximately 12 years of intensive clinical trials before they can enter the market and be used in therapy. Work on the compound obtained by Polish scientists is still ongoing. However, every discovery in the field of neurodegenerative diseases is invaluable, as the social problems related to their spread will only increase.
The development of a drug that could be widely distributed is hampered by the fact that we still do not fully understand how the disease develops and what causes it in its early stages. Perhaps the compound developed at the University of Warsaw will prove to be the most promising in this regard.
“A breakthrough in the treatment of Alzheimer’s would certainly be understanding the mechanism of neurodegenerative changes in the brain. We hope that our research will contribute to finding an effective drug,” emphasizes Prof. Zawadzka.
Alzheimer’s, the great unknown
What is the reality of a person living with Alzheimer’s disease today? The prospects are not encouraging. The drugs available on the market, such as donepezil and rivastigmine, do not cure the disease but only slow down its progression. Their effectiveness is significant only in the early stages of the disease. Not knowing exactly what causes brain cell damage and death, we are unable to develop a drug that would address the root cause of the problem.
Another problem is the side effects – possible adverse reactions that depend on individual factors such as the general health of the patient. The most common include insomnia, mood deterioration, muscle spasms, and gastrointestinal problems. The search for therapies tailored to individual patients is a step in the right direction toward enabling people to live not only longer, but also better lives. The potential of the compound developed at the Faculty of Chemistry lies in its versatility.
The text was originally published in Polish on the Serwis Naukowy UW website on February 11, 2025.
