May 28, 2018.
Four drugs, prescribed against Alzheimer’s disease, may soon no longer be reimbursed by Medicare. A report from the High Authority for Health considers that they are not effective enough against this disease that we do not know, today, still not cure.
Four drugs against Alzheimer’s disease could be delisted
Drugs currently prescribed to fight Alzheimer’s disease may soon be delisted. It is in any case a response that the government could give to the latest recommendations from the Haute Autorité de Santé, which has just issued an opinion on the therapeutic strategy aimed at combating Alzheimer’s disease.
According to the organization, the real effectiveness of the four drugs, Aricept, Ebixa, Exelon and Reminyl, as well as their generics, which are used in the treatment of this neurodegenerative disease, has not been proven. The HAS therefore believes that they could disappear from Alzheimer’s disease treatment protocols, in favor of more effective strategies.
850,000 French people have Alzheimer’s disease
” At this date, no answer to questions […] such long-term efficacy, characteristics of patients who benefit from these drugs, has not been provided », Explains the Haute Autorité de Santé in a summary of its work on Alzheimer’s disease. ” New data confirms efficacy of drugs for symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is modest at best “.
In this review, the HAS pleads in particular in favor of a diagnosis, more and more early of the disease, as well as a support ” adapted and responsive To people suffering from this disease. According to the organization, more than 850,000 people have Alzheimer’s disease. While these are mainly people over the age of 75, there are nearly 353,000 people affected before the age of 65.
Gaelle Latour
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