%0 Journal Article %J J Alzheimers Dis %D 2019 %T Ethical Issues in the Treatment of Late-Stage Alzheimer's Disease. %A Watt, Andrew D %A Jenkins, Nicole L %A McColl, Gawain %A Collins, Steven %A Desmond, Patricia M %X

There is hope that the continuing efforts of researchers will yield a disease-modifying drug for Alzheimer's disease. Such a drug is likely to be capable of halting, or significantly slowing, the underlying pathological processes driving cognitive decline; however, it is unlikely to be capable of restoring brain function already lost through the pathological process. A therapy capable of halting Alzheimer's disease, while not providing restoration of function, may prompt serious ethical questions. For example, is there a stage in the disease process when it becomes too late for therapeutic intervention to commence? And who bears the responsibility of making such a decision? Conversations regarding the ethics of treating neurodegenerative conditions with non-restorative drugs have been largely absent within both clinical and research communities. Such discussions are urgently required to ensure that patients' rights and well-being are protected when such therapeutic options become available.

%B J Alzheimers Dis %V 68 %P 1311-1316 %8 2019 %G eng %N 4 %R 10.3233/JAD-180865