Quebecers diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease will be able to request medical assistance in dying in advance starting Oct. 30. As a will, they will be able to complete the form in anticipation of the moment when they can no longer consent to care. This long-requested extension is welcomed by patients with relief, even if doctors have reservations about its implementation.
People with Alzheimer’s disease or another neurocognitive disorder must continue to socialize and avoid isolation at all costs to combat their symptoms, a researcher and geriatrician says.
“Eating, moving and socializing are the tripods that maintain cognitive function,” says Dr.year Thomas Tannou, researcher and geriatrician at the University Institute of Geriatrics of Montreal.
According to a Léger survey conducted for the Alzheimer Society of Montreal, 74% of Canadians believe that nothing can be done to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, and 80% of the general public believe that neurocognitive disorders are a normal part of aging.
Worrying data, according to the Alzheimer Society, which calls for prevention.
“The sooner we act, the sooner we make a diagnosis, the sooner we can implement measures to mitigate cognitive decline,” explains Dr.year Tanna.
Photo by Hugo Duchaine
Be proactive
So he urges Quebecers to stay proactive, watch for symptoms, don’t tell yourself it’s normal with age, and seek advice. But he also believes that society must open up to patients suffering from neurocognitive disorders, of which there will be more and more in the coming years.
According to him, we must fight against the stigmatization of people suffering from these diseases. Shame or fear from loved ones will often lead patients to isolate themselves and stay at home. But this is a mistake, says the specialist.
“The more we isolate ourselves, the less we will stimulate our cognitive functions (…) We have to go out and maintain a social life at all costs,” he advises.
He has Alzheimer’s patients who go to restaurants and have reruns when needed. “And that’s right,” D continuesyear Tanna.
People with a neurocognitive disorder such as Alzheimer’s disease have a life expectancy of 8 to 10 years.
Prepared medicines
The importance of early detection and maintenance of cognitive abilities will become even more important in the coming years thanks to the arrival of drugs that can slow down these diseases, continues D.year Tanna.
Health Canada is currently evaluating the drug, which has already been approved in the United States.
This is donanémab. It does not cure Alzheimer’s disease, but early studies show that it could slow its development in the brain.
“We hope to be able to prescribe them,” emphasizes neurologist Ziad Nasreddine, who designed the MoCA test, widely used to detect Alzheimer’s disease.
Without being miraculous, the new drugs could delay patients’ loss of autonomy by several years, they believe.
You can refer to the handbook of the Ministry of Health and Social Services here.
