“Adapting prescribing criteria for amyloid‐targeted antibodies for adults with Down syndrome” published in the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association
Drawing attention to policies currently preventing people with intellectual disabilities from accessing new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, a recent publication in Alzheimer’s & Dementia illustrates why and how healthcare insurers’ prescribing criteria should be adapted to include people with Down syndrome.
The analysis and the published recommendations are the result of work by an international effort led by the LuMind IDSC Foundation (LuMind IDSC) and the National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices (The NTG). The findings are the consensus of 20 specialists with expertise in intellectual disabilities, Down syndrome, and Alzheimer’s disease.
The authors call for drug formulary committees to modify prescription criteria to account for the younger onset age of dementia among people with Down syndrome, the use of alternative language in the criteria, and the adaptation of assessment instruments validated for cognitive decline in the Down syndrome population.
Alzheimer’s & Dementia Journal online