30 May 2022 – Over half a million Canadians are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related form of dementia. Given our country’s rapidly aging population the number of people with dementia — and the associated costs of $10.4 billion per year — are projected to double by 2031. This urgent health care challenge is currently being tackled by a multi-disciplinary group of clinicians and scientists. Dr. Mari DeMarco [above], a Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar, is leading the project, which also has match funding from Health Research BC.
The IMPACT-AD study, led by Dr. DeMarco, is designed to specifically address barriers to uptake and use of Alzheimer’s disease biomarker testing in the Canadian health care system. Historically, diagnosis has relied heavily on observing the signs and symptoms of the disease and by using basic imaging studies of the brain. Excitingly, this new test measures biomarkers to help identify the disease and identify it earlier in the disease course than is possible without biomarkers. This test is being used by doctors across Canada that specialize in dementia care. Patient samples are sent to the clinical laboratory at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver for analysis and the results are used by doctors to better direct care for their patients.
