Dthera Sciences Commends the Work of the Alzheimer's Association to Raise Awareness of the High Cost of the Disease on Healthcare System and Caregivers
Dthera Sciences Commends the Work of the Alzheimer's Association to Raise Awareness of the High Cost of the Disease on Healthcare System and Caregivers
Study Reports that Alzheimer's Dementia Affects 5.7 Million Americans
Dthera Developing First Digital Therapeutics to Address Issues Associated with Dementia
SAN DIEGO, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dthera Sciences (OTCQB:DTHR), a digital therapeutics company developing quality-of-life therapies to address dementia from Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, today commended the Alzheimer's Association report released earlier this week for highlighting the serious state of the disease, and particularly the high cost it exacts on the healthcare system and the patient caregivers. The "2018 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures" report stated that the overall costs to care for the estimated 5.7 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias will reach a total of more than $277 billion in 2018 for the second year in a row. The cost is expected to increase significantly, as the number of Americans over the age of 65 increases from 53 million today, to 88 million by 2050.
The report also points out the strain on caregivers, with one study citing that 48% of all caregivers for the elderly are caring for patients with some form of dementia. The report also highlighted the long duration and intensity of this type of care. Fifty seven percent of familial caregivers, according to another study cited in the report, have provided care for more than four years. The average time a caregiver spends caring for a patient with dementia is 92 hours per month, which is 27 more hours per month than care for patients without dementia. Dementia-patient caregivers also experience higher levels of emotional stress and financial burden than those who care for other types of patients. Poignantly, the report goes on to say that the "intimacy, shared experiences, and memories that are often part of the relationship between a caregiver and care recipient may also be threatened...[as the dementia advances]."
"This important report from the Alzheimer's Association points out the devastating effect of Alzheimer's dementia on the US healthcare system, especially the toll it takes on caregivers, both familial and professional," said Edward Cox, Dthera Sciences CEO. "Dthera is focused on creating and delivering digital therapeutics that bring medically-validated treatments, such as reminiscence therapy, to patients suffering from dementia and severe forms of social isolation, to ease symptoms and create a better quality-of-life for them and their caregivers. Dthera expects to launch its first digital therapeutic product, ReminX, a tablet that delivers personalized reminiscence therapy, in the second quarter or 2018. We hope that ReminX will have a meaningful impact on this terrible disease, that has few viable treatment options."
About Digital Therapeutics
Digital therapeutics, a new and emerging subsection of digital health, is a technology that delivers a therapy directly to a patient via a digital interface. The sector offers the promise of scaling effective individual therapies to larger patient populations, thereby amplifying care, changing patient behavior, and reducing the cost-of-care.
About Dthera Sciences
Dthera Sciences, based in San Diego, is a publicly-traded digital therapeutics company developing and commercializing innovative quality-of-life therapies addressing dementia, and other social isolation issues, associated with the elderly and neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease. The company's lead product, ReminX, digitally delivers a clinically-supported therapy, reminiscence therapy (RT), to patients suffering from dementia, and extreme social isolation, to reduce anxiety and improve quality-of-life. An open-label study in patients with dementia, conducted at the University of California San Diego, showed a significant reduction in anxiety, depression and overall emotional distress after the patients viewed their story over ReminX. The company plans to launch ReminX commercially in the second quarter of 2018.
For more information, please visit www.dthera.com and www.reminx.com
Contact:
Company
Geno Kostikov
Director, Corporate Development
geno@dthera.com
(858) 215-6360
Media
Deanne Eagle
Planet Communications
deanne@planetcommunications.nyc
(917) 837-5866
SOURCE Dthera Sciences Inc.
