B. Z. Aminoff (MD, PhD, Research Professor)
Geriatric Division, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
The Minerva Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of End-of-Life, Tel Aviv
University, Tel Aviv, Israel
As of 2020, some 50 million people globally suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, with this number expected to increase to 152 million by 2050.
In the United States as of 2019, informal (family) care is estimated to account for nearly three-fourths of caregiving for people with Alzheimer’s disease at a cost of US$234 billion per year and approximately 18.5 billion hours of care.
The cost of caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease to society worldwide is projected to increase nearly tenfold and reach about US$9.1 trillion by 2050.
In many cases, as a result of financial as well as other considerations, during the last days of life, 63% of Alzheimer’s patients experience severe suffering and are diagnosed as having the Aminoff suffering syndrome (which is the described in this website).
When dealing with Alzheimer’s, suffering is often not a function of the disease itself but is rather a result of inadequate medical and nursing care.
The suffering of Alzheimer’s disease patients can often be prevented. Moreover, when recognized, it can and should be diagnosed, prevented, treated so that it could be eased.