Alzheimer's is the seventh leading cause of death in the world. It is a huge burden to health care systems, but also to families and to people who are aging. Alzheimer's really, robs people of their identity. It takes away their memories, their personality and how they think and even how they perceive the world. So you can imagine it's very challenging.

Over 75% of Alzheimer's cases today are not diagnosed. And a typical diagnosis takes close to three years. So these are big challenges that we have faced. If you treat people late you may prevent progression of the disease. But a lot of damages actually happen. I think it's important to move much earlier, to treat people in the stage when they're asymptomatic.

And so how do you test people when they're asymptomatic? You have to have a very simple, test to do that and to be able to rule out, Alzheimer's in the early stage.

My name is Thomas Strube. I am in my mid-50s and in April 2018 I was diagnosed with MS. That was a severe blow of fate for me. From one hundred to zero within just a few months, which led to me ending up in a wheelchair. I could not accept that and then decided: You have to tackle this issue. I wanted to be able to walk again and together with my neurologist and my physiotherapist I then made the decision: You have to take a different path. You have to do sports, you need to get proper medication. You need something that gives you security.

Which led to me being able to walk again, that the relapses stopped, that I feel good. I feel healthy and I can walk. That is the most important thing for me and the second most important thing, that I was able to go back to work. This worked out in a way where, after six years, I was finally able to start working again. And it enabled me to live self-determined and to participate again in life and in social life and also in social interaction.

My experience has shown me that I can support others. That I must support them. That is why five years ago I founded a self-help group in Wolfenbüttel. All members of the group, now 27 in total, have decided to go through life together with others and also to make their story public. As a result, we have appropriate forums and can also be found in the newspapers. My role as group leader is to support the members of the group. All members can come to me at any time, receive support in all matters, whether these are health-related questions or whether it is simply a magazine they need to be able to look something up.

After my diagnosis, I searched the internet and immediately came across the website trotz MS under the DMSG (German Multiple Sclerosis Society). I still recommend these two websites today to people with MS, whether digital or in print. I believe everyone feels well supported there. I also think it is very strong that we now have digital applications, for example the BRISA app: to obtain information from the internet, to get it from the app, to be able to reflect your feelings there. To track how I felt a few weeks ago and to prepare myself for the next appointment with the neurologist. Today, as a patient and advocate, I make sure that other people with MS can follow, as far as possible, the same path as I have. That is what I wish for everyone.