Ethics of Early Intervention in Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research, treatment, and prevention focus increasingly on developing personalized interventions based personal genetic, biological, phenotypic data, for early intervention (EI) to limit harm. This approach has much recommend it, but important ethical philosophical challenges follow that should be considered, which we analyze here. We argue advancing understanding of the causes AD undermines clarity distinction between primary secondary prevention. makes it unclear how categories can appealed as basis making judgements about what are permissible, distinguishing acceptably vs unacceptably points in life intervene. Timely efforts at vital limiting harm from given logic EI is that, presence risk, earlier better, one might assume earliest best. may or not case; however, permissibility intervening different ways stages complex turns numerous contextual factors. consider particular implications course, presenting a valuable resource negotiating clinical policy AD.