Drug treatments for people with Alzheimer’s disease should be made available on the NHS – new study finds

Published 14 July 2009

Drugs used to treat people with Alzheimer’s disease should be available on the NHS to people throughout their disease according to a new study presented at ICAD.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) currently recommends that people in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease be denied access to drug treatments on the NHS because of cost. Researchers used a new economic model to draw conclusions that the drugs are cost effective and should be made available to people in the UK.

'The current model used by NICE to evaluate drug treatments for dementia is fundamentally flawed and must be changed. We welcome new research into finding a more accurate way of evaluating the benefits of drugs treatments for people with dementia and look forward to a new suggested model being peer reviewed and investigated further.'

Professor Clive Ballard
Director of Research
Alzheimer's Society

Ends

Reference: P3-224 - Updated Cost-Effectiveness Projections for Donepezil in the Treatment of Patients with Mild to Moderately Severe Alzheimer's Disease in the UK. Abstract.

Notes to editors

Alzheimer's Society researchers at ICAD are available for interview or comment on request
The International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease is held in Vienna from 11 - 16 July. Please visit ICAD for further information.
One in three people over 65 will die with dementia
Alzheimer's Society research shows that 700,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, more than half have Alzheimer's disease. In less than 20 years nearly a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to 1.7 million people by 2051.
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