What to know about Alzheimer’s diagnoses and treatments in Spain

Approximately 800,000 people in Spain suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, according to the latest estimates from the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN). 

Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that damages and destroys nerve cells and their connections in the brain. This leads to loss of memory and also affects the way people think and behave.

This scientific society reports that Alzheimer’s accounts for 60 percent of dementia cases, and nearly 30 percent of cases remain undiagnosed.

Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) states that there are 4.31 million people with disabilities in Spain and estimates that 5.55 percent of all people with disabilities suffer from Alzheimer’s.

A total of 12.36 percent of these are over eighty years old (10.64 percent for men and 13.2 percent for women), 4.76 percent are between 65 and 79 years old, and 0.49 percent are under 64 years old.

Currently, the most widely used diagnostic criteria used in Spain are those of the American Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association from 2011. 

According to Alzheimer Catalunya, there’s no one single diagnostic test, but rather a series of tests and examinations.

READ ALSO: How Trump’s pharma plan could impact med prices in Spain

Early detection and diagnosis are important to start treatment as soon as possible and to be able to provide careful information so that patients are able to understand the situation and still be able to make decisions themselves regarding treatments and care. 

Generally, if you have public healthcare in Spain, there are a number of steps to go through to get diagnosed.

If you suspect that you might have Alzheimer’s or one of your family members does, first would be a visit to your GP.

If they think necessary, they will pass you on to a specialist who will run a series of different tests.

This includes cognitive tests, blood tests, brain neuroimaging, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis and genetic testing.

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about getting hearing aids in Spain

Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s is currently an incurable disease, but there are treatments available that can slow it down or prevent it from progressing further.

According to Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, there are currently four drugs marketed specifically for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in the public health system in Spain. All of them have a symptomatic effect, meaning they act on the consequences of the neurodegenerative process, such as cognitive and behavioural problems, but not on its causes.

These include Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist memantine and Neuroleptic drugs, as well as various therapies and lifestyle changes, including diet.

The latest news, however, is that two new treatments authorised in the EU will no longer be covered by Spanish public funding, according to a decision adopted on July 15th of this year.

These two drugs have been shown to slow cognitive decline in people with the disease in its early stages, but access to them in Spain is limited so far to those with private healthcare or those who can afford to pay for them privately. 

They are currently being used in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China.

Dr. Raquel Sánchez del Valle, coordinator of Spanish Society of Neurology’s (SEN) Behavioural and Dementia Study Group, is calling for a review of the decision.

“The SEN requests that health authorities reconsider this resolution, because restricting access to these medications only to those who can afford them privately violates the principle of equity in our National Health System,” she said.

According to newspaper El País, as of July 2026 neither of these two drugs have been publicly funded by an EU country yet, due to disputes with the pharmaceutical companies and costs.

The good news is that there are several lines of research into new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease. These include various types of new drugs, as well as symptomatic treatments to reduce the symptoms of the disease such as memory problems and agitation. 

READ ALSO: What you need to know about getting an MRI in Spain