Alzheimer's Drug Analysis
Evaluating Prescription Drugs Used to Treat:
Alzheimer’s Disease
Comparing Effectiveness, Safety, and Price
Our Recommendations
The medicines used to slow mental decline in people with Alzheimer’s disease are not particularly effective. When compared to a placebo, only 10% to 20% more people taking an Alzheimer’s drug seem to benefit at all. And it is the rare person who has a significant delay in the worsening of their symptoms over time. However, there is no way as yet to predict who will respond and who will get little or no benefit from one of the five drugs approved to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, the decision to try one is a gamble and judgment based on whether the treatment is worth the cost and the risk of side effects. …show more content…
It is part of a Consumers Union and Consumer Reports project to help you find medicines that are safe and effective and give you the most value for your health care dollar. To learn more about the project and other drugs we’ve evaluated for other diseases and conditions, please go to www.CRBestBuyDrugs.org Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, the medical term for a decline in memory, thinking, decision-making, and reasoning. It and other dementias affect about 8 million people in the U.S, including 40% to 50% of people age 85 and over. In 2004, an estimated 4.5 million people had Alzheimer’s disease. That number is projected to almost triple to 13.2 million by 2050 as the baby boomers move into their senior years. Despite years of research, no one knows exactly what causes the damage to brain cells, structure, and function that leads to Alzheimer’s disease. Recent research indicates that your chance of developing Alzheimer’s is strongly genetic – that is, it tends to run in families and you inherit a tendency to get it. However, that does not mean you will get it even if you have a family history of Alzheimer’s. Studies suggest, for example, that regular physical and mental activity that keeps your mind engaged – such as doing crossword puzzles or playing bridge – as well as strong social ties and personal relationships, may help to prevent its …show more content…
The personality changes also deepen, and some people with Alzheimer’s become abusive, highly anxious, agitated, delusional, or paranoid. Alzheimer’s is eventually a fatal disease although many of its victims die of something else, such as pneumonia, and not the dementia itself. At any point in time, about half of the people with Alzheimer’s have earlystage disease and the other half middle- or late stage-disease. If you or a loved one has any of the symptoms listed in columns 2, 3 and 4 of Table 1, we would advise you to seek medical care as soon as
Alzheimer’s Disease
Comparing Effectiveness, Safety, and Price
Our Recommendations
The medicines used to slow mental decline in people with Alzheimer’s disease are not particularly effective. When compared to a placebo, only 10% to 20% more people taking an Alzheimer’s drug seem to benefit at all. And it is the rare person who has a significant delay in the worsening of their symptoms over time. However, there is no way as yet to predict who will respond and who will get little or no benefit from one of the five drugs approved to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, the decision to try one is a gamble and judgment based on whether the treatment is worth the cost and the risk of side effects. …show more content…
It is part of a Consumers Union and Consumer Reports project to help you find medicines that are safe and effective and give you the most value for your health care dollar. To learn more about the project and other drugs we’ve evaluated for other diseases and conditions, please go to www.CRBestBuyDrugs.org Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, the medical term for a decline in memory, thinking, decision-making, and reasoning. It and other dementias affect about 8 million people in the U.S, including 40% to 50% of people age 85 and over. In 2004, an estimated 4.5 million people had Alzheimer’s disease. That number is projected to almost triple to 13.2 million by 2050 as the baby boomers move into their senior years. Despite years of research, no one knows exactly what causes the damage to brain cells, structure, and function that leads to Alzheimer’s disease. Recent research indicates that your chance of developing Alzheimer’s is strongly genetic – that is, it tends to run in families and you inherit a tendency to get it. However, that does not mean you will get it even if you have a family history of Alzheimer’s. Studies suggest, for example, that regular physical and mental activity that keeps your mind engaged – such as doing crossword puzzles or playing bridge – as well as strong social ties and personal relationships, may help to prevent its …show more content…
The personality changes also deepen, and some people with Alzheimer’s become abusive, highly anxious, agitated, delusional, or paranoid. Alzheimer’s is eventually a fatal disease although many of its victims die of something else, such as pneumonia, and not the dementia itself. At any point in time, about half of the people with Alzheimer’s have earlystage disease and the other half middle- or late stage-disease. If you or a loved one has any of the symptoms listed in columns 2, 3 and 4 of Table 1, we would advise you to seek medical care as soon as