Ethics of Navigating New Dementia Treatments and Diagnostics in Public Health

Recent years have marked a turning point in dementia research and care, with the approval of new, high-cost disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and the rapid development of increasingly sensitive biomarkers enabling earlier and even preclinical diagnosis. These developments have generated renewed hope for patients and families, but they also pose profound ethical, social, and political challenges. Healthcare systems already under considerable financial and organisational strain must decide how to integrate costly therapies and diagnostic tools whose benefits, risks, and target populations remain limited and contested. At the same time, the prospect of earlier diagnosis raises difficult questions about autonomy, stigma, identity, and responsibility for future planning. As societies face rising dementia prevalence alongside constrained resources, there is an urgent need for interdisciplinary ethical analysis to guide policy, clinical practice, and public debate in this rapidly evolving landscape.The goal of this Research Topic is to examine how European and other healthcare systems can and should respond ethically to the introduction of new disease-modifying dementia treatments and novel diagnostic technologies. We aim to critically assess the promises, limitations, and unintended consequences of these innovations, and to clarify the ethical responsibilities of clinicians, nurses, policymakers, researchers, industry actors, and society at large.This Research Topic invites contributions that explore questions of justice, priority setting, and sustainability in access to expensive therapies and diagnostics, as well as the ethical governance of biomarkers and early detection practices. We seek analyses of how earlier diagnosis affects consent processes, autonomy, psychosocial well-being, and care trajectories for patients and families, including those who may never become eligible for treatment. Particular attention is given to the implications for nursing practice, long-term care, and informal caregiving, and to how health system structures, cultural norms, and legal frameworks shape ethical responses. By bringing together normative, empirical, conceptual, and policy-oriented work, this Research Topic aims to support more transparent, equitable, and person-centred approaches to dementia care in an era of emerging disease-modifying interventionsSuitable themes for manuscripts include, but are not limited to:• Ethical and public health frameworks for prioritising access to high-cost disease-modifying dementia treatments.• Justice, solidarity, and economic sustainability in financing dementia diagnostics and therapies.• Ethical governance and appropriate use of biomarkers for early or preclinical detection in clinical and population settings.• Informed consent, disclosure practices, and communication of uncertainty, risk, and prognosis.• Psychosocial, identity-related, and stigma-related impacts of early diagnosis and biomarker information.• Implications of new treatments and diagnostics for nursing roles, care work, and care coordination.• Comparative analyses of national or regional policies on approval, access, and reimbursement.• The role of industry, regulators, clinicians, and patient organisations in shaping expectations and demand.• Public, patient, and caregiver involvement in priority setting and decision-making.• Cross-cultural and global perspectives on equity, vulnerability, and structural disadvantage in dementia care. Topic editors: Sigurd Lauridsen, Kate Irving, Rodrigo Serrat, Kathleen Durkin Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77885/ethics-of-navigating-new-dementia-treatments-and-diagnostics-in-public-health