The president of the Spanish Confederation of Alzheimer’s and other Dementias (CEAFA), Mariló Almagro, demands that the National Health System fund lecanemab and donanemab, which slow the disease by 18 months. She denounces that care falls on women in 82% of cases and costs €35,000 a year per family.
The Spanish Confederation of Alzheimer’s and other Dementias (CEAFA) urges the Government to include the two new drugs authorised in Spain against Alzheimer’s, lecanemab and donanemab, in the National Health System's service portfolio, which slow the progression of the disease by 18 months and are currently only available in private healthcare. This was expressed by the president of the entity, Mariló Almagro, in an interview published by Diario Sur.
Almagro describes it as a "blow" that these drugs have not been funded after being approved and authorised. CEAFA is working to have them returned to the Interministerial Commission on Drug Prices. The organisation acknowledges that the efficacy is modest, between 27% and 32%, but emphasises that patients currently have no pharmacological alternatives of this kind.
"It has been a blow that the new Alzheimer's drugs were not funded"
The president of CEAFA argues that the decision regarding potential side effects belongs to the patient and their doctor, and rejects prioritising the number of beneficiaries over results. "Money cannot be placed above health, because it is not an expense but an investment," she states. This year's slogan for World Alzheimer’s Day has been "No is no longer an answer".
Regarding diagnosis, Almagro admits that patients are still being diagnosed late. A study by the confederation with its 315 associations estimates that it takes two and a half years from when the patient visits Primary Care until they are referred to a neurologist. The incorporation of blood biomarkers, which avoid many lumbar punctures, could facilitate earlier detection.
The head of the organisation points out that increasingly younger people are arriving, in their "forties and fifties", a profile that requires adapting resources. She recalls that the Spanish Society of Neurology identifies 14 modifiable risk factors that could reduce cases by up to 40%: alcohol, sedentary lifestyle, cholesterol, diabetes, pollution, or educational level, among others. Only 1% of cases are genetic.
Economically, CEAFA estimates that caring for a person with Alzheimer’s costs an average of €35,000 a year for each family, a burden that in 82% of cases is borne by women, who either adjust their working hours or leave the labour market altogether. The organisation is calling for three measures from the Government: a census of diagnosed individuals, equitable access to pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, and early diagnosis.
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