Howard Fillit

..To examine the effects of medication reviews by primary care physicians on prescriptions written for elderly members of a Medicare managed care organization who were at risk for polypharmacy...

..To estimate the costs of Medicare patients with vascular dementia (VaD). To compare the costs of VaD to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and controls without dementia...

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..Ongoing clinical studies may help to determine the role of estrogen in the cognitive function of postmenopausal women and in the prevention of AD...

..The data presented in this review should interest physicians who provide preventive care management to middle-aged and older individuals who seek to maintain cognitive vitality with aging...

..The identified barriers and potential solutions will be discussed here and in the accompanying articles in more detail...

..In conclusion, better management of AD symptoms through donepezil treatment may reduce the burden of caregiving, providing physicians with a pharmacologic approach to improving quality of life for AD patients and their families...

..However, there are limited studies examining the impact on health care costs of cholinesterase inhibitors prescribed in routine clinical practice...

..In 1997, the cost of managing patients with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias was estimated at US dollar 100 billion. Direct medical costs are compounded by indirect costs of care, including unpaid care and loss of earnings...

..Evidence is accumulating to suggest that cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors may be instrumental in the development of dementia...

..While vascular dementia (VaD) is the second most prevalent dementia diagnosis, little is known about healthcare use and costs for VaD...

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..The use of brief screening instruments for dementia, such as the one validated here, will be increasingly important for the effective management of dementia and other chronic diseases where dementia is a coexisting condition...

..This study analyzed the relationship between co-morbid conditions and health care utilization and costs for patients with AD and estimated costs by stage of disease and receipt of pharmacotherapy...

..By improving cognitive and daily functioning, donepezil may lower costs by improving medical management...

..Finally, and significantly, it is difficult to obtain funding for this research...

..Antioxidants, fatty acids, and micronutrients may have a role, and diets rich in fruits and vegetables and other dietary approaches may improve the outlook for patients considered at risk for cognitive impairment...

..To estimate the effect of memantine discontinuation for a nonmedical reason (eg, formulary restriction or family decision) on the health status of nursing home (NH) residents with Alzheimer's disease (AD)...

..Early detection, management, and counseling of individuals experiencing the frailty identity crisis has implications for the health and quality of life of frail individuals, their loved ones and caregivers, and society...

..Ultimately, the development of truly effective disease-modifying drugs through accelerated drug discovery is the only real pathway to primary prevention...

..However, these clinical guidelines have not been updated in the past few years...

..This study evaluated its feasibility for assessment of the elderly...

..Reactivity against control tissue was negative. Though the etiopathogenetic relation of these antibrain antibodies remains to be delineated, the data suggest that they may be a marker of HAD...

..Putative pathological functions, or risk-factor activities, of apoE4 include its role in beta-amyloid deposition, neurofibrillary tangle formation, synaptic loss, lipid dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress...