The current costs of dementia are staggering. The global cost of Alzheimer’s disease in 2010 was $604 billion, or 1% of the global gross domestic product. To put this into perspective, that is ~$200 billion more than the annual revenue of either Walmart or Exxon.
In the U.S., people suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases cost our nation nearly $200 billion annually in patient care and lost productivity. Unless something is done to eradicate these diseases, the cost is estimated to increase to $1.1 trillion by 2050.
As the Baby Boomers move into retirement, the impact of dementia on the Medicare and Medicaid systems will be extraordinary. To meet the coming crisis in neurological care, at home and abroad, we will need more than an army of caretakers. We must find effective treatments for these diseases.