Zhang, Xin;
Aylwin, Michael;
Thomas, David;
Stott, Joshua;
Crutch, Sebastian;
Fox, Nick C;
(2025)
The quality of life of patients with dementia and their caregivers: important and yet inadequately assessed.
Lancet Neurology
, 24
(11)
pp. 906-907.
10.1016/S1474-4422(25)00351-5.
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Abstract
Dementia is one of the most pressing challenges for health and social care globally, with an estimated annual economic burden of £42 billion in the UK alone. The specific toll on individuals and their families is more difficult to quantify, yet often profound, with dementia now the most feared health condition among UK adults. The assessment of health-related quality of life in dementia has assumed increasing importance, particularly in evaluating whether the benefits of disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer’s disease newly approved in the UK justify their cost. The potential benefit of these therapies lies primarily in their ability to preserve individuals in a cognitive state that maintains quality of life for themselves and their caregivers. Lecanemab and donanemab—monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid β—have demonstrated efficacy in slowing cognitive decline in individuals with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease, delaying progression by 4–6 months over 18 months of treatment. However, these therapies were recently refused public reimbursement in the UK on the grounds that the likely benefit was insufficient for their cost.
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