[100-Year Brain Health⑦] Mook In-hee "Korea's Dementia Research Budget Insufficient... Need Advanced Support Beyond Care"

[Meeting Dementia and Mental Health Experts]
Mukinhee, Director of Dementia Overcoming Research and Development Project

US Invests $3.5 Billion Annually in Research
Many Researchers and Ideas, but Korea Struggles to Keep Up

Different Life Paths and Causes of Onset
Personalized Treatment Increases Success Rates

Diagnostic Technology Is World-Class
Should Be Included in National Health Screening

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] "We need to be able to stop a problem with a hoe instead of a spatula. Support for research at an earlier stage beyond just caring for dementia patients is necessary."

On the 6th, at the office of the Dementia Overcoming Research and Development Project Group at Seoul National University Hospital, Director Inhee Muk, who recently attended the 2022 Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC 2022) held in San Diego, California, USA, expressed her feelings as "envy and regret." Director Muk said, "The United States invests about $3.5 billion (approximately 4.8 trillion KRW) from the federal government and others for dementia research," adding, "They are already responding to the global trend that dementia will follow COVID-19, but we are unable to keep up." She evaluated, "Our project group's annual budget is about 20 billion KRW. There are many researchers and many new ideas proposed, but due to budget constraints, only a few can be selected."

Nevertheless, regarding the development status of dementia treatments in Korea, she emphasized, "Various approaches are being made," and "There is competitiveness as there are various mechanisms such as antibody therapeutics, natural products, and cell therapies." Director Muk said, "Since each person has a different life path and different causes of onset, considering genetic and environmental factors to provide personalized treatment can increase the success rate," adding, "The global trend is moving toward personalized treatment, so many new ideas are needed in this area."

She also stated that prevention and diagnosis are important as well as treatment development to overcome dementia. Director Muk said, "We are participating in the international dementia prevention program, the World Wide FINGER (WW-FINGER), and are working on tasks to establish a Korean-style FINGER system," adding, "In terms of diagnosis, it is necessary to distinguish the type of dementia, such as Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia, and proceed with diverse treatments accordingly." The project group supports the development of technologies such as analyzing brain images of individuals without dementia symptoms to assess dementia risk and diagnosing dementia using only blood tests. She emphasized, "Our diagnostic technology is not behind the global level."

Regarding this, Director Muk suggested, "Currently, people go for dementia diagnosis when subjective cognitive decline (SCD) appears," and "Dementia-related tests should be actively included in the national health screening." She explained that once simple diagnostic methods such as blood tests become commercialized, regular testing should be conducted from an early age, and for the elderly population, more thorough examinations such as imaging tests should be combined.

Integrated and Linked System for Dementia Research Information

Recently, the project group established the dementia-related standardized research data and information sharing platform called the ‘TRR-DPK’ system. TRR stands for a prepared patient registry for dementia-related clinical trials, and DPK refers to the integrated and linked system for domestic dementia research information. One of the biggest challenges faced by new drug developers is the difficulty in obtaining the necessary data in a clear and organized manner. However, by using the TRR-DPK system, access to various patient data from 56 hospitals, with personal information removed, becomes possible. Director Muk expressed her expectations, saying, "Because the data has been completely standardized, it will greatly help research to overcome dementia."

She said, "What dementia patients fear most is being socially stigmatized and abandoned by those around them," and expressed her ambition, "Since various approaches are being made, we aim to achieve some results by 2028 when the project group's activities conclude." Furthermore, she added, "Considering the time it takes for these technologies to be proven and commercialized, we will strive to overcome dementia within 10 to 20 years."