| |
PRZOOM - /newswire/ -
London, United Kingdom, 03/03/2010 - ReportBuyer.com, the online destination for business intelligence for major industry sectors, has added a new report.
|
| |
The report “Alzheimer's Disease - Current Treatment Practices and Opportunities 2010” presents the findings of a comprehensive survey of current clinical practices in the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). This was carried out following the participation of more than 220 physicians, practicing predominantly in the US. The purpose of this study was to establish current everyday drug treatment practices for AD and how current drug classes, individually and in combination, are prescribed for mild, moderate and severe stages of the disease.
The treatment of AD remains an area of significant unmet need, with therapies based largely on two drug classes: the cholinesterase inhibitors and the NMDA receptor antagonists. These drugs target the symptoms of the disease, however there is considerable need for disease-modifying therapies. Other therapeutic agents are used to treat this disease, which have also been surveyed as part of this work. This survey investigated the use of these drug classes for the treatment of mild, moderate and severe AD, as well as examining the use of drug combinations. While available drugs to treat AD are limited, current practices in how they are used and combined in treating mild, moderate and severe disease, vary greatly. This survey has examined current treatment practices, which includes off-label use.
A prevalence study in 2005 estimated there were 24•3 million people suffering from dementia globally, with 4•6 million new cases added every year. In the absence of a cure, the study suggested dementia sufferers will double every 20 years to 81•1 million by 2040. Of those reported to be suffering from dementia, 60% were living in developing countries, a figure expected to rise to 70% by 2040. Rates of increase of dementia are not uniform, and between 2001 and 2040 were projected to increase by 100% in developed countries and by more than 300% in India, China, and their south Asian and western Pacific neighbours. More than 50% of these dementia cases are due to AD.
Today, approximately five million Americans suffer from AD, a figure expected to rise to 14 million by 2050 if a cure is not found. One in eight persons in the US over the age of 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have AD. Direct and indirect costs of AD and other dementias in the US amount to more than $148 billion annually. It is estimated that 10 million Americans are caring for a person with AD or another dementia, one third of whom are over the age of 60. It is estimated the worldwide costs for dementia care are over $315 billion annually.
|
press[.]reportbuyer.com 
