Raúl L. Arizaga

Economic impact of dementia in developing countries: an evaluation of costs of Alzheimer-type dementia in Argentina

BACKGROUND There is no previous information about economic costs of Alzheimers disease (AD) in South America. The objective of this study was to evaluate the costs of AD in Argentina. METHODS Eighty community-dwelling patients, 20 institutionalized AD patients and their respective primary caregivers, and 25 healthy elderly subjects participated in this study. The cognitive and neuropsychiatric impairments and severity of dementia were assessed with the Mini-mental State Examination, Neuropsychiatric Inventory and Clinical Dementia Rating, respectively. A structured interview about health and health-care resources used during the past 3 months was administered to family caregivers. The time devoted by carers to looking after the patients and the caregiver burden (Zarits Burden Interview) were recorded. RESULTS The annual direct costs of the disease increased with cognitive deterioration from US

Dementia in Argentina and Other Latin-American Countries: An Overview

3420.40 in mild to US

DIFFERENT COGNITIVE PROFILES ON MEMORY TESTS IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

9657.60 in severe AD, and with institutionalization (US

Neuropsychiatric symptoms as a predictor of caregiver burden in Alzheimer’s disease

3189.20 outpatient vs. US

Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia in Latin America

14,447.68 institutionalized). Most direct costs were paid for by the family. CONCLUSIONS With the projected increase in the number of persons at risk for developing AD in emerging countries, the family cost of the disease will be significant. Dementia costs should be a matter of analysis when health policies are being designed in developing countries.

Placebos in clinical trials in Alzheimer disease: an international discussion.

Latin-American countries are expected to experience an expansion of the elderly population, as life expectancy increases. We reviewed the literature to determine the frequency of dementia in our region and surveyed selected Latin-American countries to determine the availability of diagnostic and treatment services and long-term care facilities. Latin-American countries face a challenge to develop public health strategies to cope with the anticipated heightened number of elderly with cognitive impairment.

Vascular dementia: the Latin American perspective.

It is well know that dementia, a clinical syndrome characterized by an acquired and persistent loss of intellect, is not a single entity or the outcome of one specific etiology. It should be noted, however, that within the dementia syndrome, some distinctive profiles of cognitive impairment are associated with different etiologies (Ross et al., 1992).