The Imperative for Disease Modifying Treatments in Alzheimer s Disease

Abstract

It is estimated that there are currently as many as 38,000 people with dementia in Ireland and that this figure may exceed 70,000 by 2026.1 Indeed the prevalence of dementia is rising worldwide and it is not surprising therefore, that Alzheimer?s disease (AD), which accounts for 50 - 60% of all cases of dementia is the focus of a great deal of scientific endeavour.2 The current trend towards increasing numbers of patients in the moderate to severe stages of AD who require substantial residential and community healthcare resources is particularly worrying. Existing therapies have limited effects on the underlying disease pathobiology and the need for the disease modifying therapies that act at an earlier stage of the disease process is overwhelming. The failure to either delay disease onset or progression will have stark implications for the demands placed on healthcare resources, patients and their informal caregivers.