Peru's Bold Dementia Plan Could Transform Brain Health in Latin America—Here's Why It Matters

Peru has approved its first national plan to address Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, marking a watershed moment for brain health in Latin America. In November 2025, the National Plan for the Prevention and Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias (2026–2028) received formal approval from Peru's Ministry of Health, with a public launch in December. This milestone reflects years of collaboration between researchers, clinicians, caregivers, and policymakers working to address a critical gap: as Peru's population ages rapidly, the country had no coordinated strategy to diagnose, treat, or support people living with dementia.

Why Peru's Dementia Plan Matters Now

Peru's approval of a national dementia strategy is significant because it places brain health squarely on the country's public health agenda at a time when cognitive decline is becoming increasingly common. The plan emerged from sustained advocacy by civil society groups and researchers who recognized that many families face profound barriers to early diagnosis and care. Unlike wealthy nations with established dementia infrastructure, Peru—a country with significant linguistic, cultural, and educational diversity—needed a tailored approach that could work across remote communities, urban centers, and underserved populations.

The timing is particularly important because dementia prevention and early intervention are now possible in ways they weren't just a few years ago. Researchers at institutions like the University of Southern California (USC) are on the cusp of a revolution in Alzheimer's prevention, with new early-detection strategies and medications offering hope for disease intervention years before people lose memory and cognitive function.

How Peru's Plan Addresses Real-World Challenges

Peru's national dementia plan focuses on three core pillars that directly address gaps identified by local clinicians and researchers:

• Early Diagnosis: The plan prioritizes screening and cognitive assessment in primary health care settings, recognizing that many cases go undetected in remote areas where access to specialists is limited.
• Caregiver Support: With families often bearing the burden of care without professional guidance, the plan includes resources and training for caregivers managing behavioral and cognitive symptoms.
• Community-Based Care Models: Rather than relying solely on hospital-based treatment, the plan emphasizes integrated, community-centered approaches that respect local contexts and cultural practices.

Maritza Pintado-Caipa, a neurologist at Ricardo Palma Clinic's Memory and Neurodegenerative Diseases Unit in Lima, worked as a consultant to Peru's Ministry of Health to shape the plan's technical framework. Her recent work, profiled in El País, documented the challenges of assessing cognitive decline in remote Peruvian Amazon communities where linguistic and educational differences complicate diagnosis. "The challenge for us—clinicians, researchers, as well as policymakers and other stakeholders—is to recognize the great privilege of working for populations in a highly diverse country," Pintado-Caipa explained. "That diversity requires us to develop a broad and deep understanding of its many facets in order to implement a dementia plan that truly works for everyone".

Global Momentum Behind Dementia Prevention

Peru's plan arrives at a pivotal moment in dementia research. For the first time in the 120-year history of Alzheimer's disease research, prevention of this devastating neurodegenerative disease is within reach. In 2023, lecanemab became the first FDA-approved drug to slow the progression of early-stage Alzheimer's disease in people with mild symptoms, ushering in what researchers describe as a new era of excitement. This breakthrough was developed with significant contributions from USC scientists, demonstrating how research can translate into clinical tools.

Paul Aisen, founding director of the USC Epstein Family Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute, has been studying Alzheimer's for nearly 40 years. "Everything feels different the last few years, compared with the decades leading up to that," Aisen said, reflecting on the shift from decades of setbacks to recent progress. His team is leading a global clinical trial called the AHEAD Study, investigating whether lecanemab can slow or stop Alzheimer's brain changes before symptoms emerge.

Can Alzheimer's Prevention Happen Within a Decade?

Aisen is confident that the benchmarks needed for primary prevention—widespread screening, reliable diagnostic tests, and effective therapies—can be achieved within the next 10 years. The long-term vision is to monitor people in middle age to identify those headed for Alzheimer's disease before any brain degeneration causes cognitive symptoms. "When the abnormalities start, we're going to fix them with medications, just as we lower cholesterol in midlife to prevent heart attacks and stroke," Aisen explained. This preventive approach mirrors how cardiologists now manage heart disease risk decades before a heart attack occurs.

Much of this progress depends on collaboration across institutions and disciplines. USC has assembled multiple research centers—including the USC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC), the Epstein Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI), and the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute—that work together on different facets of prevention and treatment. The Epstein ATRI Biorepository alone holds approximately 5 million samples of human plasma and other specimens collected from clinical trials and longitudinal studies worldwide, providing researchers with unprecedented access to biological data.

Steps to Support Dementia Prevention and Early Detection

• Know Your Risk Factors: Understand family history, cardiovascular health, and cognitive changes that warrant evaluation by a healthcare provider, particularly if you're in midlife.
• Advocate for Blood-Based Biomarkers: Ask your doctor about emerging blood tests that can detect early signs of Alzheimer's pathology before symptoms appear, making early intervention possible.
• Support Community Engagement: Participate in or promote local brain health awareness events, similar to Peru's IMPACT 5K for Brain Health, which reduce stigma and encourage open conversations about aging and dementia.

In September 2025, Impact Salud organized the IMPACT 5K for Brain Health in Lima in connection with World Alzheimer's Day. The community run and walk brought together families, caregivers, health professionals, and members of the public to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and encourage open conversations about dementia and aging. Events like this reflect the expanding role of grassroots advocacy in Peru's response to dementia.

What Peru's Plan Means for Other Countries

Peru's approval of a national dementia plan sets a precedent for other Latin American nations facing similar challenges: aging populations, limited specialist resources, and diverse communities with varying access to healthcare. The plan demonstrates that comprehensive dementia strategies are achievable even in resource-limited settings when researchers, clinicians, and policymakers work together. Sofia Cuba, a physician and principal investigator at Impact Salud, emphasized the importance of translating research into policy: "We congratulate Peru on the approval of the National Dementia Plan, an important milestone that reflects the country's commitment to people living with dementia and their families. Research must not only generate evidence but also help drive meaningful public policy change".

The convergence of Peru's policy initiative with breakthroughs in Alzheimer's prevention research suggests that the next decade could fundamentally reshape how societies approach dementia. Rather than accepting cognitive decline as an inevitable part of aging, countries now have both the scientific tools and policy frameworks to intervene early. For families in Peru and beyond, this shift from treatment to prevention offers genuine hope that dementia may no longer be an unavoidable consequence of growing older.