The 's Drug Market And The Treatment Of Alzheimer 's Disease And Dementia

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, accounting for 65–70% of all cases (Jellinger, Janetzky, Attems, & Kienzl, 2008). The other dementias are of the Parkinson 's group, the fronto-temporal group and the vascular group. The total worldwide yearly costs for the treatment and care of patients suffering from dementia are estimated to be around 250 billion US dollars. The lifetime risk for AD between the ages of 65 and 100 is 33% for men and 45% for women with an annual increase of 1–2% in the seventh decade to almost 60% in the 10th decade with doubling every 5 years (Jellinger et al., 2008). AD is incurable, and thus represents a major public health problem. AD represents a challenge to humanity due to its relatively recent discovery, progressive nature of the illness, and complex diagnosis.

The FDA recently has allowed two treatments to be used for Alzheimer patients. One of the treatments is a Partial Glutamate Antagonist, which is an important transmitter to the brain. It is said that Glutamate helps patients more than sugar pills do, however; it is said that too much

Alzheimer’s disease is a prominent brain disease that effects a massive amount of individuals in the United States. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 60-80% of dementia cases, with no chance of being cured, prevented or decelerating over time (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014). AD is the most well-known form of dementia, causing complications in brain function in the areas of memory, thinking, and behavior (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014). In an effort to gain a deeper understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers create new knowledge about the disease, which is then distributed to the public. The goal in this information disbursement is to find new and inventive ways to treat AD, prevent AD from progressing at such a rapid pace, and aid in the quality of life in those diagnosed with AD as well as caregivers and medical professionals providing treatment to individuals’ with AD.

Alzheimer’s disease is a complex illness that affects the brain tissue directly and undergoes gradual memory and behavioral changes which makes it difficult to diagnose. It is known to be the most common form of dementia and is irreversible. Over four million older Americans have Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to triple in the next twenty years as more people live into their eighties and nineties. (Johnson, 1989). There is still no cure for Alzheimer’s but throughout the past few years a lot of progress has been made.

With the growing number of people becoming diagnosed, and experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, we must begin to take precautions and somehow attempt to gain knowledge of how the disease can be better treated, and ultimately prevented.

Throughout history there have been reports of decreased memory and mental deterioration that accompanied old age. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who described the symptoms in a woman in Germany in the 1907 but it was not until the 1970’s that AD was considered to be a major disorder and AD continues to be a major health concern worldwide (Reger, 2002).

Luckily, there are biotechnology companies trying to solve the growing problems that Alzheimer’s disease is presenting to the public. Despite repeated failures in clinical trials, leading pharmaceutical companies continue to invest time and capital in finding Alzheimer’s disease treatments. 99 percent of therapies in the past decade have come up short. Scientists are bitterly divided on the issue of targeting amyloid to effect the progression of

Have you ever done something dumb, and stated, "I think I've lost my mind?" Well for an average of 5.5 million people, this is a reality. Parts of their brain literally have begun to die, and with it, goes their livelihood. Before becoming a home health aide, I had heard of dementia and Alzheimer's, but I had never seen it first-hand. Over the last two years I have watched as it has debilitated many people both physically and mentally, and all I can think is: "When

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia in the United States, with its commonness expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades. Although awareness of Alzheimer's disease has increased greatly among professional and amateur audiences, exact means do not exist to calculate how many Americans the disease affects. However, it is estimated that there are over 5.1 million people aged 65 or older with probable Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer’s is also the sixth leading cause of death in America. Throughout, I will be addressing the issues that surround this disease: it is not an inevitable consequence of aging, the care and treatment, and end-of-life decisions. While explaining these issues, the goal is to achieve a better

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive decline in cognitive function. It affects the brain by damaging brain cells resulting in a decreased in cognitive function, physical mobility, swallowing and fine motor skills. This disease approximately 5.1 million Americans aged sixty-five or older (Alzheimer 's Association, 2015) of which approximately 700,000 will likely die this year (Alzheimer 's Association, 2015) of related symptoms such as aspiration pneumonia due to decreased swallowing ability. The progression of this disease is consistent and cannot be cured or slowed (Alzheimer 's Association, 2015). According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s is one of the most expensive chronic disease in the United States estimating a cost of 226 billion dollars per year (Alzheimer 's Association, 2015). This debilitating disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States (Alzheimer 's Association, 2015).

Since the early 1900’s scientists and doctors have been scrambling to obtain the knowledge of how to cure and prevent degenerative diseases. Since these illnesses are currently the fifth-highest cause of death in the United States (State of Aging and Health in America, 2016), it has become imperative to find a cure. However, there are many

Potent pharmaceuticals like Haldol (haloperidol), Roxanol (morphine sulfate oral suspension), and Ativan (lorazepam) have clear benefits in Advanced Dementia (AD) patients. Though often contraindicated in elderly and demented patients, these and similar medications are frequently used in hospice and palliative care settings for terminally ill patients. Elderly and demented patients can frequently have reactions to these medications that are the opposite of their intended effect, which can discourage providers from utilizing these medications.

Methods: After approval of Animal Ethics Committee, Swiss albino mice of either sex, and weight 18 to 25 grams were divided into 7 groups, administered orally either distilled water, Rivastigmine (2.4mg/kg), Tc (100mg/kg), Pe (300mg/kg), Formulation 1 (Tc+Pe: 400mg/kg) and Formulation 2 (Tc+Pe+Os:400mg/kg) daily for 15 days. Piracetam (200mg/kg) was injected daily intraperitoneally for 8 days. The mice underwent a learning session using Elevated Plus maze. Retention of learning (memory) was tested 24 hours later.

Alzheimer's Disease is a condition that affects 50% of the population over the age of eighty five, which equals four million Americans each year. It is becoming an important and high-profile issue in today's society for everyone. There are rapid advancements being made in the fight against this disease now more than ever, and the purpose of this essay is to educate the public on the background as well as the new discoveries. There are many new drugs that are being tested and studied every day which slow down, and may even halt the progress of the disease.

This week I will discuss recent developments with Eli Lilly (LLY) and BioDelivery Sciences (BDSI) that have caught the attention of many biotech investors. On Tuesday Lilly announced that they are changing the endpoints in their Phase III trial (EXPEDITION3) evaluating Solanezumab as a therapy for mild Alzheimer 's dementia, prodromal Alzheimer 's dementia, and preclinical Alzheimer 's disease. Originally the trial had co-primary endpoints of cognition and function; it will now use cognition as the single primary endpoint with functional outcomes being used as key secondary endpoints.