daphne bramham: hope for eradicating aids and slowing alzheimer's
there is good news to offset all the bad. aids could be eradicated by 2050 and there is now more hope for managing alzheimer's.
4 minute read
a researcher working on alzheimer's disease.
jpg
with much of the world blistering under scorching temperatures and others suffering from floods, war and a soaring cost of living, it’s easy to overlook that there are good things worth celebrating. because of medical researchers, activists, donors and, yes, pharmaceutical companies, treatments for two diseases are making the long-term outcomes less devastating.
little more than 42 years ago, the u.s. centers for disease control first described a rare lung infection that was accompanied by other unusual infections that indicated that the immune systems of the patients were seriously compromised.
initially called “gay men’s pneumonia,” its cause was later identified and named human immunodeficiency virus. untreated, hiv can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or aids. by 1992, it was the leading cause of death among american men aged 25 to 44.
since the aids pandemic began, an estimated 40.4 million people have died. and, while the hiv/aids epidemic was first identified among gay men, hiv/aids now affects more women and girls than men and boys.
from a peak in 2004, deaths have decreased 69 per cent both because of prevention measures and antiretroviral drugs that block sexual transmission of the virus and keep it from progressing into aids.
advertisement
now, most of the estimated 39 million people — men, women and children — living with hiv are healthy and productive.
last week, unaids announced that by 2050, aids could be eradicated.
it does come with a caveat. unaids warned that it can only happen if there is a global commitment to continued investments in evidence-based hiv prevention and treatment.
it could also happen faster, if there is the will.
hiv infections are rising “alarmingly” in asia and the pacific, according to unaids, with almost a quarter of all new hiv infections. but rates are also increasing in eastern europe and central asia since 2010 (a 49-per-cent increase) and the middle east and north africa (a 61-per-cent increase).
the reasons? lack of prevention services for the most marginalized, and “barriers posed by punitive laws, violence and social stigma and discrimination.”
plus, as aids recedes as a problem in wealthier countries, so too does global funding.
to put this into context, the world health organization has declared only two diseases eradicated worldwide — smallpox and rinderpest, or cattle plague.
after 16 centuries, the who declared smallpox eradicated in 1980 thanks to vaccines. rinderpest, first recorded in the first century, was declared gone in 2011 because of the combination of better sanitation and vaccinations.
advertisement
other diseases close to eradication but still hanging on include polio, measles, mumps, rubella and malaria.
alzheimer’s is another terrible disease that until recently seemed to have no treatment. it robs people of their cognitive abilities and kills them within four to eight years.
nearly one in every three people aged 65 and older dies of alzheimer’s. that’s more than breast and prostate cancer combined.
no one is expecting a cure. experts describe it as a chronic disease like diabetes that, at best, can be managed.
last week, managing it moved another hopeful step forward with results of a clinical trial of the eli lilly and co. drug donanemab.
if prescribed early enough, researchers found that it can slow the relentless worsening by four to seven months. given the prognosis, that is as much as a 35-per-cent improvement.
donanemab is the second drug that uses synthetic antibodies administered intravenously to target one of the things that causes alzheimer’s — a buildup of a sticky protein called amyloid.
lecanemab, developed by companies eisai and biogen, does the same thing and was recently approved for use even though its results have not been as good as those for the latest drug.
advertisement
of course, there are risks. three people died during the recent trial due to brain swelling that wasn’t noticed in time to discontinue the drug’s use. as a result, anyone taking the drug will have to be closely monitored with mri testing.
over the past three-and-a-half years, pitted by fear and global lockdowns, most of us learned a lot about epidemics, pandemics and diseases. most learned enough about epidemiology to trust the experts, not google, and maybe even spell it.
but humans are fickle. the pandemic resulted in more than 6.9 million deaths. but as memories of the panicked pre-vaccine period of covid fade along with painted directional markers on shop floors and the signs urging people to practise social distancing, the willingness to get boosters is waning.
and that is always the fear with these breakthroughs. without sustained funding, education and research, the opportunity to eradicate aids may be lost along with the hope for finding better treatments for chronic diseases such as alzheimer’s.
•
and on a completely different, but happy note. earlier this month, i wrote about my 20-hour delay in toronto due to air canada cancelling my home-bound flight. i filed for compensation. this week, air canada e-transferred the money — $1,000 — as mandated by law for lengthy delays and reimbursement for my unexpected hotel stay, breakfast and dinner.
advertisement
it also offered a 15-per-cent discount on my next flight that is valid for up to three years.
share story
