The figures are stark. With nearly 36 million people worldwide suffering the mind-robbing disease Alzheimer’s, spending on their care accounts for one percent of global GDP. Health experts believe that number could double, triple or even quadruple in the next 40 years as the world’s population ages. It will likely become one of the biggest single public health issues worldwide.

That means we can expect more patients, and their families, who will fight for public resources to find a cure and help care for the ill. And the expectation that it will soon be possible to test people early for the disease, even before they show symptoms, will mean millions more citizens globally will become aware of how helpless we are right now in this fight.