Few UK Alzheimer's patients suitable for new disease-modifying drugs, study finds

Jun 11 2024BMJ Few people in the UK with early stage Alzheimer's disease are likely to be suitable for the latest drugs which aim to halt progress of the condition, yet many are nevertheless likely to be referred for these treatments, finds research published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

To gauge the potential level of healthcare demand, the researchers retrospectively evaluated patients attending 5 community memory services across North and East London and a national specialist cognitive disorders service between January and June in 2022. Just over 40% of the memory service patients were men; their average age was 79, with just 14% under the age of 70. After exclusions due to incomplete data and factors, such as symptom severity, frailty, and other coexisting conditions, nearly 1 in 3 were potentially eligible for treatment with the new drugs.

More of the specialist clinic patients were men and they tended to be younger. Their average age was 66, but well over half were under the age of 70. Alzheimer's disease was the most common diagnosis , followed by frontotemporal dementia . "Systems need to be set up to deal with this potential large mismatch between referral and ultimate eligibility in order to avoid overwhelming services," highlight the researchers.

"While there are limitations on the accuracy of our estimates, given current barriers to early clinical presentations and referral, our study provides predicted numbers based on real-world community cohorts," they write.

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