Alzheimer's disease is a chronic and progressive disorder mainly affecting people aged over 65 years. Dementia and Alzheimer's disease affect a substantial proportion of the UK population in this age group, and their number is expected to increase dramatically over the next 20 years. At the moment there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, though people suffering from this disorder use a significant proportion of health and social services. The burden of dementia and Alzheimer's disease has been investigated in several studies. The recent introduction of new drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease has increased the interest in managing the disease. However, the few studies to assess the value for money of these new treatments are ambiguous in their conclusions. More detailed analyses specifically comparing cost and outcomes associated to the use of alternative treatments for the management of people with Alzheimer's disease are therefore required.
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