.svg)
A Few Facts About Alzheimer’s in the USA
.png)
Prevalence of Alzheimer’s and other Dementias in the United States
This number includes an estimated 5.6 million people age 65 and older and approximately 200,000 individuals under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s, though there is greater uncertainty about the younger-onset estimate. Of the 5.8 million people who have Alzheimer’s dementia, 81 percent are age 75 or older
One in 10 people (10 percent) age 65 and older has Alzheimer’s dementia.
The percentage of people with Alzheimer’s dementia increases with age: 3% of people age 65-74, 17% of people age 75-84, and 32% of people age 85 and older have Alzheimer’s dementia.
Total annual payments for health care, long-term care and hospice care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias are projected to increase from $290 billion in 2019 to more than $1.1 trillion in 2050 (in 2019 dollars). This dramatic rise includes four-fold increases both in government spending under Medicare and Medicaid and in out-of-pocket spending.
Pharmacologic Treatment of Alzheimer’s
None of the pharmacologic treatments (medications) available today for Alzheimer’s dementia slow or stop the damage and destruction of neurons that cause Alzheimer’s symptoms and make the disease fatal.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ONLY approved 5 drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s
.webp)
With the exception of memantine, these drugs temporarily improve symptoms by increasing the amount of chemicals called neurotransmitters in the brain. Memantine blocks certain receptors in the brain from excess stimulation that can damage nerve cells. The effectiveness of these drugs varies from person to person and is limited in duration.
Top 10 challenges facing Alzeheimer’s sufferers
Lack of public knowledge and awareness of the disease
Insufficient funding
Problems in detecting and diagnosing the disease
Poor dementia care
Inadequate treatments
Specific challenges faced by diverse communities
Specific challenges faced by those with younger-onset Alzheimer’s
Unprepared caregivers
Ill-equipped communities
Mounting costs of care
.webp)
