Abstract
Recent estimates indicate that the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease is increasing at an alarming rate, and with that increase comes a dramatic upsurge in the cost of this disease to society. In 2000, 4.5 million Americans had Alzheimer's disease. The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease is expected to increase by 27 percent by 2020, by 70 percent by 2030, and by nearly 300 percent by 2050 (13.2 million Americans). The cost to government agencies of the care of patients who have Alzheimer's disease is substantial at present, and it is rising rapidly: by 2010, Medicare spending on Alzheimer's disease will grow . . .