Newswise — LOS ANGELES (Nov. 20, 2014) – Seeking to stem the rapid increase of Alzheimer’s disease, Cedars-Sinai has launched a new Alzheimer’s Prevention Program to help identify patients at risk of developing the neurological disorder and to reduce the impact on those diagnosed with the slow-moving condition.
The program represents a concerted effort by clinicians, researchers, patients, families, caregivers and community agencies to address an approaching “tsunami” of Alzheimer’s care. Medical authorities expect the number of cases nationally to triple by 2050, inundating the healthcare system with patients and costing more than $1 trillion.
“We know that we can have a major impact on this disease if we take bold action,” said Dean Sherzai, MD, PhD, director of the program. “If Alzheimer’s is detected early enough, we can take steps to slow or even prevent its progression.”
Sherzai said the first goal of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program will be to identify patients in the early stages of the disease when interventions and treatments can have the biggest impact. The second goal will be to provide patients and families with comprehensive, long-term care and education in a well-established center that combines research and clinical services with a network of support in the community.
Sherzai said Cedars-Sinai’s comprehensive approach eventually may serve as a model that can be implemented elsewhere, with interventions, treatments and care plans built around each patient’s background and interests. “If we tell patients they have Alzheimer’s, prescribe the drugs that exist right now and send them out without providing any other resources, all we’ve done is create chaos in their lives,” said Sherzai, a faculty member in the Department of Neurology and the Department of Neurosurgery. “We have to give them counseling and direction. We can help make the journey much less painful, becoming one in which families get closer rather than being torn apart by tensions and financial burdens.”
The Alzheimer’s Prevention Program will serve as the hub for a clinical trial site for experimental Alzheimer’s drugs, including several being studied at Cedars-Sinai. Sherzai said that about 50 drugs have worked in animal models of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease but failed when applied to humans. Researchers believe the drugs did not work in patients because their disease was too advanced. Indeed, existing drugs treat symptoms without slowing the onset of the disease, Sherzai said.
Although genetic and environmental factors influence the development of the disease, Sherzai said that lifestyle changes, especially if made early, can alter its course. If applied early enough, nutrition, exercise and certain kinds of mental activity not only affect quality of life but its length as well. “This is remarkable, because none of the drugs we have can do that,” he said.
Cataclysmic terms often are used to describe the coming crisis of Alzheimer’s disease. More than 5 million Americans live with the disease today, a figure that is expected to triple by 2050. Treating all of these patients will cost an estimated $1.2 trillion (in today's dollars), according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Sherzai said this “tidal wave” of patients already has begun to strike, disrupting the lives and finances of patients and their families.
Still, Sherzai and other Alzheimer’s researchers see reasons for hope. The solution, he said, lies in education and early detection through efforts such as the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program.
“The studies going on at Cedars-Sinai are very exciting, and we’re looking forward to helping patients participate in clinical trials,” he said. “Empowering patients – especially empowering them to take control of their own health through lifestyle changes and preventive measures – is one of my passions.”
November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month.
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About Alzheimer's disease• In surveys, Alzheimer's disease is ranked as one of the top two most-feared diseases in America. • Alzheimer's disease is the most expensive condition in the nation, with direct costs in 2014 estimated to total $214 billion. That cost doesn't include jobs and time lost by families and related expenses.• Women in their 60s are about twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's during their lives as they are to develop breast cancer. A woman's estimated lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer's at age 65 is one in six, compared with nearly one in 11 for a man.SOURCES: http://maristpoll.marist.edu/index.php?s=alzheimers, http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_facts_and_figures.asp
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