Quality of life and anti-dementia drugs : an exploration of the experiences of people living with dementia and their care-partners

Abstract

Dementia is a chronic, progressive, incurable disease that has a major impact on the quality of life of people diagnosed and their families. Some anti-dementia medications exist (cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine) that can alleviate the symptoms of the disease, nevertheless the efficacy and value of these drugs remains highly controversial. A key unresolved debate in the research literature relates to the clinical significance of the benefits reported in clinical trials, and most importantly whether such improvements represent meaningful changes to the quality of life of people living with dementia (PLWD).