Alzheimer Disease and Its Complications: Best Practices, Emerging Therapies, and Barriers to Care

Details

Alzheimer Disease (AD) is a degenerative disease that most commonly affects the elderly, although it is occasionally detected as early as middle age. AD accounts for over half of all diagnosed dementia, the prevalence of which is increasing. Once there is a diagnosis of probable AD, one must determine which pharmacotherapy, if any, is most appropriate for treatment of the patient. The literature suggests that gaps in care on the part of healthcare professionals exist. While some physicians continue to use the antiquated, nonspecific term “senile dementia” as a descriptive diagnosis of AD, perhaps suggesting a lack of understanding of the gravity of the disease state or its associated pathophysiology, other report feeling uncertain at times about now to best diagnosis of the disease, particularly in its very early stages. Moreover, a number of different practice guidelines have been updated recently, and HCPs are often unable to keep up with the publishing of literature and evolution of clinical practice.

Target Audience:

Healthcare professionals specializing in: neurology, gerontology, internal medicine, palliative care, or those who otherwise commonly care for patients with AD or who frequently encounter them or their caregivers in practice.

By the end of the session the participant will be able to:

• Describe what is presently known about the pathophysiology of AD.
• Describe the challenges associated with diagnosis and treatment of ADDiscuss the neuropathophysiology of AD and how it relates to presently available AD treatments mechanisms.
• Identify the present treatment options currently available for management of AD and apply them to patient cases using evidence-based medicine.
• Describe emerging drug therapies in the treatment of AD.
• Evaluate a treatment plan for a specific patient based on degree of AD to optimize safety and efficacy, suggesting modifications for improvement.