Estimating the Cost of Delayed Treatment for Alzheimers Disease

 
   Lead Investigator:    Natalia Olchanski
   Institution      :    Tufts Medical Center
   E-Mail           :    nolchanski@tuftsmedicalcenter.org
   Proposal ID      :    170


   Publications:


1  Olchanski N, Lin PJ, Cohen JT, Neumann PJ
   Alzheimer's disease progression rates: new estimates
   2012   Abstract  American Neurological Association Annual Meeting in Boston, MA, Oct 8 , 

   ACCEPTED





   Proposal Description:
   The substantial burden Alzheimer???s disease (AD) places on patients is well known. A key question in the management of patients involves the possible costs associated with delayed treatment or under treatment. In theory, earlier interventions ??? with both pharmacological therapies and non-pharmacological measures ??? could improve patient outcomes, reduce caregiver burden, and help delay or avoid expensive medical and nursing home care. The proposed study has two parts. Part I will examine new, real-world data from the NACC UDS to inform disease progression rate estimates. We will estimate the rates at which individuals transition from the mildly symptomatic, pre-dementia stage (i.e., mild cognitive impairment [MCI] due to AD) to mild AD. We also will examine disease progression rates with and without pharmacologic treatment in the MCI state. All analyses will adjust for patient demographic characteristics, such as age and gender, so that the decision model can further investigate the impact of AD treatment underuse in subpopulations. Part II will develop a decision-analytic model that analyzes the costs of delayed treatment of AD based in part on parameters derived in Part I and simulates the outcomes under a variety of scenarios.