Assessing the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease in Real-World Settings in Three European Countries.

Background: There exists considerable variation in disease progression rates among patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objective: The primary objective of this observational study is to assess the progression of AD by characterizing cognitive, functional, and behavioral changes during the follow-up period between 6 and 24 months.

Methods: A longitudinal prospective study with community-dwelling patients with an established clinical diagnosis of AD of mild to moderate severity was conducted in Germany, Spain and the UK.

Multi-National, Cross-Sectional Survey of Healthcare Resource Utilization in Patients with All Stages of Cognitive Impairment, Analyzed by Disease Severity, Country, and Geographical Region.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most disabling conditions worldwide and the disease burden increases with the aging global population. There are only a few prospective studies using real-world data to support effective healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) in AD.

Objective: To confirm the association between HCRU and AD severity in a real-world population, including patients with all cognitive impairment (CI) severities.

Quantifying the diagnostic pathway for patients with cognitive impairment: real-world data from Australia.

Objectives: Rapid diagnosis of dementia is essential to ensure optimum patient care. This study used real-world data to quantify the dementia diagnostic pathway in Australia.

Design: A real-world, cross-sectional survey of physicians and patients.

The Diagnostic Pathway From Cognitive Impairment to Dementia in Japan: Quantification Using Real-World Data.

Objective: This study aimed to quantify the diagnostic pathway from cognitive impairment (CI) to dementia in Japan.

Methods: This was a real-world, cross-sectional survey of patients with CI and their physicians.

Results: Data for 1107 patients were provided by 106 physicians.

Non-professional caregiver burden is associated with the severity of patients' cognitive impairment.

Background/objectives: To analyse the relationship between caregiver burden and severity of patients' cognitive impairment.

Design: Data were drawn from the cross-sectional 2015/2016 Adelphi Real World Dementia Disease-Specific Programme.

Setting: This research was multi-national and studied physicians and their consulting patients with cognitive impairment.

Real-World, Multinational, Retrospective Observational Survey of the ADAS-Cog and Associations with Healthcare Resource Utilization in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most costly conditions, both economically and regarding patient disability and dependency. The huge costs coupled with the predicted increase in prevalence worldwide are likely to challenge healthcare systems in the future. The classic version of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognition subscale (ADAS-Cog) is generally seen as the current gold standard primary outcome measure of cognitive symptom progression in dementia clinical trials.

Use of guideline-recommended management in established coronary heart disease in the observational DYSIS II study.

Background: Guidelines recommend lifestyle modification and medications to control risk factors in coronary heart disease (CHD). Using data from the observational DYSIS II study, we sought to evaluate the use of guideline-recommended treatments at discharge for acute coronary syndromes (ACS) or in the chronic phase for CHD, and participation in rehabilitation/secondary prevention programs.

Methods And Results: Between 2013 and 2014, 10,661 patients (3867 with ACS, 6794 with stable CHD) were enrolled in 332 primary and secondary care centers in 18 countries (Asia, Europe, Middle East).

Analysis of Episodes of Care in Medicare Beneficiaries Newly Diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.

Objectives: To study transitions between healthcare settings and quantify the cost burdens associated with different combinations of transitions during a 6-month period before initial Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis so as to investigate how using an episode-of-care approach to payment for specific disease states might apply in AD.

Design: A retrospective observational cohort study.

Setting: United States.

Quantifying the Diagnostic Pathway for Patients with Cognitive Impairment: Real-World Data from Seven European and North American Countries.

To ensure that patients with dementia and their caregivers receive appropriate treatment and support, early diagnosis is essential but remains challenging. Real-world data from a multi-national, cross-sectional survey of physicians and their patients were analyzed to quantify the diagnostic pathway for dementia, including a focus on severity of patients' cognitive impairment (CI) at the time of symptom onset, referral and subsequent diagnosis. Data were collected for 7,620 patients with CI.

Economic Burden, Mortality, and Institutionalization in Patients Newly Diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Current information is scarce regarding comorbid conditions, treatment, survival, institutionalization, and health care utilization for Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

Objectives: Compare all-cause mortality, rate of institutionalization, and economic burden between treated and untreated newly-diagnosed AD patients.

Methods: Patients aged 65-100 years with ≥1 primary or ≥2 secondary AD diagnoses (ICD-9-CM:331.

Modelling total coronary heart disease burden and long-term benefit of cholesterol lowering in middle aged men with and without a history of cardiovascular disease.

Aims: Cumulative coronary heart disease (CHD) events over 20 years were examined in men screened for, and in those randomized to, the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study.

Methods And Results: Record linkage provided CHD-related events and days in hospital for the 80 230 screenees, including the randomized cohort of 6595 men. Risk factors were determined at baseline, and disease burden assessed for groups defined by cholesterol.

Suboptimal achievement of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol targets in French patients with coronary heart disease. Contemporary data from the DYSIS II ACS/CHD study.

Background: European guidelines recommend a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target of<1.8mmol/L (70mg/dL), and/or a≥50% reduction when the target level cannot be reached, for patients at very high cardiovascular risk, and high-potency lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) in patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Aim: To document the prevalence of lipid abnormalities and the achievement of lipid targets among patients surviving an ACS and in patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD), using data from the DYSIS II study.

Impact of Switching From High-Efficacy Lipid-Lowering Therapies to Generic Simvastatin on LDL-C Levels and LDL-C Goal Attainment Among High-Risk Primary and Secondary Prevention Populations in the United Kingdom.

Purpose: High cholesterol, especially high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity/mortality. Switching from high-efficacy lipid-lowering therapies (HETs) to simvastatin might lead to sub-optimal control of LDL-C. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of switching from HETs to generic simvastatin on LDL-C levels and LDL-C goal attainment among the high-risk primary and secondary prevention populations in the United Kingdom.

Achieving goal lipid levels with ezetimibe plus statin add-on or switch therapy compared with doubling the statin dose. A pooled analysis.

Objective: Evaluate the lipid-altering effects of ezetimibe added to ongoing statin therapy, statin titration, switching from statin monotherapy to a more potent statin or to ezetimibe/simvastatin.

Methods: A pooled analysis of patient-level data from 17 double-blind, active or placebo-controlled studies of 8667 hypercholesterolemic adults randomized to ezetimibe 10 mg added to ongoing statins, statin titration (doubling), or switching from ongoing statins to rosuvastatin (10 mg) or to ezetimibe/simvastatin (10/20 and 40 mg). Percent change from baseline in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was estimated by analysis of variance.

Factors influencing dyslipidemia in statin-treated patients in Lebanon and Jordan: results of the Dyslipidemia International Study.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Therefore, as part of the Dyslipidemia International Study (DYSIS), we have analyzed the prevalence of lipid abnormalities and risk factors for dyslipidemia in statin-treated patients in Lebanon and Jordan.

Methods: This cross-sectional, multicenter study enrolled 617 patients at 13 hospitals in Lebanon and Jordan.

Attainment of normal lipid levels among high cardiovascular risk patients: pooled analysis of observational studies from the United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain and Canada.

Background: Although low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is the primary lipid target for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk reduction, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) have also emerged as risk factors. This study evaluated attainment of goal/normal lipid levels in current clinical practice among high-risk patients following lipid-modifying therapy (LMT).

Methods: Data for patients aged ≥35years and on LMT for ≥12months were identified from electronic medical records (United Kingdom and Sweden) and extracted from medical charts (Canada and Spain).

Attainment of goal and normalized lipid levels with lipid-modifying therapy in Malaysia.

Background: Although LDL-C is the primary lipid target for coronary heart disease (CHD) risk reduction, HDL-C and triglycerides (TG) have also emerged as CHD risk factors.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate goal/normal lipid level attainment after lipid-modifying therapy (LMT) in an ethnically diverse sample of patients in Malaysia.

Methods: Retrospective, longitudinal data were collected from the medical records of patients aged ≥35 years in whom LMT was initiated between January 2004 and December 2006.

Association of a reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol with incident cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Although there is overwhelming evidence that reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) with statins leads to reductions in cardiovascular disease, less is known about the effects in persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) without pre-existing vascular events.

Methods And Results: Using the UK-based General Practice Research Database we conducted a retrospective cohort study of 21,998 T2DM patients aged 35-69 with ≥2 prescriptions for lipid-modifying therapy (2000-2009). We categorized LDL-C change (mmol/l) between last available and baseline lipid values as reduction (≥3.

Mixed dyslipidemias in primary care patients in France.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of single and mixed dyslipidemias among patients treated with statins in clinical practice in France.

Methods: This is a prospective, observational, cross-sectional, pharmacoepidemiologic study with a total of 2544 consecutive patients treated with a statin for at least 6 months.

Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence of isolated and mixed dyslipidemias of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides among all patients and among patients at high cardiovascular risk; clinical variables associated with attainment of lipid targets/normal levels in French national guidelines.

Prevalence of dyslipidemia and goal attainment after initiating lipid-modifying therapy: a Thai multicenter study.

Previous studies focused on attaining low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goals after lipid-modifying therapy (LMT), but data on achieving normal levels of triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are limited. We reviewed medical records of patients initiated on LMT. High risk was defined as patients with coronary heart disease, diabetes, or 10-year Framingham risk >20%.

Association between extended-release niacin treatment and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: analysis of an administrative-claims database.

The aim of the study was to evaluate trends in antihyperglycemic agents (AHAs) use in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) newly initiating extended-release niacin (ERN) compared with other lipid-modifying therapy (LMT). United States administrative-claims data identified adults with T2DM on AHAs who received a new prescription for ERN or another LMT between January 2001 and June 2003 (index date), and these adults were followed for 12 months. Inclusion criteria were (1) stable T2DM as defined by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes and also receiving at least 2 AHA prescriptions 12 to 24 months before initiating ERN or LMT treatment and (2) at least 2 prescriptions within 12 months before the onset of ERN or LMT.

Frequency of obtaining national cholesterol education program adult treatment panel III goals for all major serum lipoproteins after initiation of lipid altering therapy.

Statin treatment targeting low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is widely used for cardiovascular risk reduction, but many statin users still face greatly elevated risks. Some experts advocate additional therapy that targets high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. However, the size of the patient group that could benefit from HDL cholesterol or triglyceride therapy has not been reported.

Frequency of diagnosis and treatment of allergic rhinitis among adults with asthma in Germany, France, and the UK: National Health and Wellness Survey.

Background: Concomitant allergic rhinitis (AR) adds to the symptomatic burden of asthma.

Scope: To determine the proportion of adults with concomitant asthma and AR whose AR is diagnosed and/or treated, data were derived from a cross-sectional, stratified, random sample of 26,468 adults from France, Germany and the UK, participants in the 2004 web-based National Health and Wellness Survey. Patients were drawn from the database if they reported (1) experiencing asthma in the prior 12 months, (2) a physician diagnosis of asthma, and (3) ever experiencing 'nasal allergies/hay fever' (physician diagnosed or self-reported symptoms).

Patients' experiences of niacin-induced flushing in clinical practice: a structured telephone interview.

Background: Niacin is highly effective at raising high-density lipoprotein cholesterol but remains underused because of the adverse event of flushing.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and severity of niacin-induced flushing and their relationship to niacin discontinuation and skipping or delaying niacin doses in clinical practice. The use of aspirin to avoid niacin-induced flushing was also assessed.