Alzheimer’s drug may delay need for residential care

AN Alzheimer’s drug could give victims another 18 months of home life before having to go into care, according to the latest research.

American scientists assessed the condition of patients using the anti-dementia drug Aricept at different doses over a four-and-a-half year period.

They concluded that those taking the highest dosage of medication were able to spend an average of 18 months longer in their own home or with their own family.

Health services and patients' families could save up to €50,000 from a 70-week delay in admission to residential care.

The Alzheimer's Society in Britain estimates that three-quarters of people in long-term care have Alzheimer's or another form of dementia.

British campaigners hope this latest study will lend weight to their efforts to have Aricept (donepezil) more widely prescribed and end the postcode lottery for patients wanting the treatment but being denied it by their local NHS authority.

The new research, which was conducted at the University Memory and Ageing Centre in Cleveland, Ohio, divided patients into four groups ranging from those taking the drug at the highest dose to those taking the drug or placebo for a minimal period.

The researchers concluded: "The use of donepezil by Alzheimer's disease patients resulted in significant delays in nursing home placement.

"Long-term use of donepezil may help Alzheimer's disease patients live longer in community settings, with consequent personal, social and economic benefits." The British National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) recommended that Aricept be made available to NHS patients in 2001.

It costs around €1,400 a year to supply the patient with the medication significantly lower than care home costs for the same period.

But many people with Alzheimer's still experience problems getting their consultant to prescribe the drug.

In January an Alzheimer's Research Trust report predicted that the cost of providing long-term care for dementia patients would triple in the next 30 years.

But the researchers said the sharp increase could be avoided if new cases of dementia could be cut by 1% a year.

There are currently no treatments which provide a cure for Alzheimer's disease, but a number of drugs have been developed that can temporarily slow down the progression of symptoms in some people.

The Ohio study is published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.