Alzheimer’s Disease Psychosis (ADP)

Alzheimer’s disease psychosis symptoms may include hallucinations and delusions experienced by as many as 30% of Alzheimer’s patients.

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Approximately 6 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Approximately 30% of patients with AD experience symptoms of psychosis, commonly consisting of hallucinations and delusions. These symptoms may be frequent and severe and may recur over time.

Dementia is a general term for loss of memory and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type, accounting for 60-80% of dementia cases or more than 6 million people in the U.S.

Serious consequences have been associated with psychosis in patients with AD, such as increased likelihood of nursing home placement, more severe dementia and increased risk of morbidity and mortality. There is no FDA-approved drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease psychosis.

Hallucinations

Seeing, hearing or experiencing things that others don’t.

Delusions

Believing things that are not true.

The Impact of ADP

Currently, there are no approved treatments for hallucinations and delusions associated with Alzheimer’s disease psychosis.

In a population-based study of individuals with incident or probable Alzheimer’s disease dementia, the presence of hallucinations and delusions predicted greater likelihood of progression to severe dementia. Serious consequences have been associated with psychosis in patients with dementia, such as increased likelihood of nursing home placement and faster progression of dementia.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s, including hallucinations and delusions, have also been associated with an impact on caregiver quality-of-life-related measures.

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