記者季大仁／新竹報導
2025年7月8日 週二 上午10:27
A long-time CEO of a Hsinchu Science Park company, Mr. Hsu, who has led a team of over a hundred employees, suddenly forgot his lines during a presentation — unable to recall even basic financial figures of his own company. At first, he attributed it to work-related stress. However, over the following months, his condition worsened, to the point where he once forgot which station to disembark at while riding the high-speed rail.
Seeking medical help, Mr. Hsu visited Dr. Jui-Cheng Chen, a neurologist at China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital. Through a combination of brainwave diagnostic models and computerized psychological assessments, doctors discovered a decline in his cognitive functions. Further Aβ PET scans revealed significant amyloid-beta plaque buildup in his brain, leading to a diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
According to Dr. Chen, the exact causes of Alzheimer’s remain unclear, but it is believed to involve a combination of abnormal protein accumulations in the brain, genetic factors, lifestyle, and environmental influences. Dr. Chen noted that while public awareness of Alzheimer’s is growing and more patients now seek early diagnosis, conventional neuropsychological assessments are often too simple for highly educated individuals. This creates a risk of false negatives, where test results appear normal even though the patient is in the early stages of the disease.
To address this, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital has partnered with a research team from National Tsing Hua University’s College of Education, led by Professors Hui-Yu Hsu, Tsai-Fu Yao, and Chih-Chien Ting, to develop an early diagnostic system — the Brainwave Diagnostic Model. This non-invasive technology analyzes memory-related brainwave potentials to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s before clinical symptoms appear. Dr. Chen explained that individuals with suboptimal health or cognitive concerns can undergo this brainwave assessment to evaluate their risk.
The Brainwave Diagnostic Model has already been applied in research and clinical testing, with the potential to become a key tool for community-based early screening for dementia in Taiwan. Dr. Chen described the system as more advanced than conventional cognitive tests. Participants play game-like tasks where they recognize images and respond to prompts while wearing a brainwave sensor. The system detects potential deficits in spatial awareness and abnormalities in brainwave patterns.
Dr. Chen emphasized that early-stage Alzheimer’s patients often experience short-term memory loss, such as forgetting what they ate the day before, or getting lost in familiar places. He strongly recommends seeking medical evaluation and intervention at the earliest signs of these symptoms.
Currently, traditional dementia medications can only temporarily improve memory but do not halt disease progression. New-generation monoclonal antibody treatments, such as Lecanemab and Donanemab, specifically target the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s — the accumulation of amyloid-beta proteins — providing a promising, immune-based targeted therapy.