New Developments in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

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First identified as a disease process in the early 1900s, today Alzheimer’s disease (AD) looms as a public health crisis. In 2000, an estimated 4.5 million persons in the United States had mild, moderate, or severe AD; this figure could grow to 13.2 million by 2050. Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH, brought together a group of experts to discuss ways to better diagnose and more effectively treat this rapidly growing population.

Prevalence

As the population ages and survival rates increase for patients with AD, not only will the number of persons with the disease increase rapidly, said Neill Graff-Radford, MB BCh, FRCP, but also the age distribution of persons with AD will change.