several studies use self-reported bruxism as a measure of bruxism, and since many people with bruxism are not aware of their habit, self-reported tooth grinding and clenching habits may be a poor measure of the true prevalence.The ICSD-R states that 85–90% of the general population grind their teeth to a degree at some point during their life, although only 5% will develop a clinical condition. Some studies have reported that awake bruxism affects females more commonly than males, while in sleep bruxism, males and females are affected equally.Children are reported to brux as commonly as adults. It is possible for sleep bruxism to occur as early as the first year of life – after the first teeth (deciduous incisors) erupt into the mouth, and the overall prevalence in children is about 14–20%. The ICSD-R states that sleep bruxism may occur in over 50% of normal infants. Often sleep bruxism develops during adolescence, and the prevalence in 18- to 29-year-olds is about 13%. The overall prevalence in adults is reported to be 8%, and people over the age of 60 are less likely to be affected, with the prevalence dropping to about 3% in this group.A 2013 systematic review of the epidemiologic reports of bruxism concluded a prevalence of about 22.1–31% for awake bruxism, 9.7–15.9% for sleep bruxism, and an overall prevalence of about 8–31.4% of bruxism generally. The review also concluded that overall, bruxism affects males and females equally, and affects elderly people less commonly.
Pharmacy benefit managers continued expressing their concerns, as did insurance companies and some doctors, who were especially concerned over the price, in light of the fact that the FDA approval was based on lowering cholesterol alone, and not on better health outcomes, such as fewer heart attacks or longer life.The treatment for people with very high cholesterol that cannot be controlled with diet or statins is apheresis, which is similar to dialysis in that a person visits a clinic each month and his or her blood is mechanically filtered, in this case to remove LDL cholesterol. That treatment costs $8000 per month, or $96,000 per year. The price of alirocumab was determined based in part on making apheresis no longer necessary. Names
Alirocumab is the International nonproprietary name. References
External links
"Alirocumab". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.