Policy Implications for Pain in Advanced Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

Untreated pain in people with Alzheimer's disease continues to be a serious public health problem. Pain is a subjective and complex experience that becomes increasingly challenging to assess as cognition declines. Our understanding of pain processing is incomplete, particularly for special populations such as people living with Alzheimer's disease, and especially in the advanced stages of the disease. Pain-processing networks in the brain are altered in Alzheimer's disease, yet evidence suggests people living with Alzheimer's disease do not experience less pain. Rather, their pain is not adequately recognized or treated. Although scholarly publications provide important assistance, recent widespread reports and guidelines do not include sufficient guidance, especially as Alzheimer's disease progresses to the last stages. Additionally, current pain measurements may not accurately evaluate pain in this condition, and the existing definitions of pain are not adequate when considering the effects of Alzheimer's disease on pain-processing in the brain. There is a need for new, widespread policies, guidelines, and definitions to help clinicians adequately manage pain in people with Alzheimer's disease. These will need to hinge on continued research because it remains unclear how Alzheimer's disease impacts central pain processing, pain expression, and communication of pain. In the meantime, policies and guidelines need to highlight current best practices as well as the fact that pain continues in Alzheimer's disease.