Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2018 Feb 1;20(1):4. doi: 10.1007/s11920-018-0868-0.
The anticipated number of persons with dementia continues to grow, and the US has insufficiently planned to provide and pay for care for this large population.
A number of significant clinical trials aiming to prevent or cure dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, have not demonstrated success. Because of the lack of efficacious treatments, and the fact that brain changes associated with dementia may begin decades before symptoms, we can predict that efforts to cure or prevent dementia will not succeed in time for millions of people in the baby boomer generation. Because of the anticipated increase in people suffering with dementia in the coming years, US health policy must address major gaps in how to provide and pay for dementia care. Reliance on Medicaid and Medicare as currently structured will not sustain the necessary care, nor can families alone provide all necessary dementia care. Innovative forms of providing long-term care and paying for it are crucially needed.
预计患有痴呆症的人数还在持续增长，而美国为这一庞大群体提供和支付护理服务的计划严重不足。
多项旨在预防或治疗痴呆症（包括阿尔茨海默病）的重要临床试验并未取得成功。由于缺乏有效的治疗方法，而且与痴呆症相关的大脑变化可能在出现症状前几十年就已经开始，我们可以预测，治疗或预防痴呆症的努力将无法及时惠及数百万婴儿潮一代的人。由于未来几年预计会有更多的人患有痴呆症，美国的医疗政策必须解决在提供和支付痴呆症护理服务方面存在的重大差距。单纯依赖目前的医疗补助和医疗保险结构，将无法维持必要的护理服务，而家庭也无法独自提供所有必要的痴呆症护理。迫切需要创新形式来提供长期护理并为之付费。
