In an article written by Antonanzas, Rive, Badenas, Gomez-Lus and Guilhaume (2006), it was found that the different styles of treatment of Alzheimer's disease (MA) have research implications. In the United States and many other developed countries, patients with AD are often institutionalized at some stage of the disease when they are expected to represent a burden to their caregivers. In Spain, AD is rarely a disease that places a person in an institution; they are regularly cared for by a community caregiver until the end. Spanish researchers found that due to their different views on AD care, much of the available research could not be applied to their country and adaptations to the research had to be made. The researchers aimed to discover whether drugs that reduced the costs of care in countries that institutionalize AD patients would have the same effect in a country that generally does not (p. 137). The goal of the research conducted by Antonanzas and colleagues was to determine the cost benefits and health and quality of life benefits (if any) of using the Federal Drug Administration-approved drug Memantine ( FDA). After seeing improvements in reducing the costs of care in the United States and other developed countries, Spanish researchers adapted a model to fit their style of care for AD patients. They hoped to find out if Memantine would help improve the lives of AD patients, their caregivers, and the country itself (Antonanzas, Rive, Badenas, Gomez-Lus, & Guilhaume, 2006, p. 137). Researchers involved in the Memantine study sought to determine whether the already lower costs of AD care in Spain could be reduced even further through the use of the only drug approved for use in moderate to severe AD. The lower costs of giving treatment to a person (whether the medication itself or a sugar pill) translate into improvements in the patient. Although the research appears to be quite ethically sound, one could argue that placebo-controlled studies could be unethical in themselves. Accepting someone into a clinical trial gives them hope of improving, but they may never get that chance. If they were placed in the control group, they would only receive a sugar pill which would have no impact on their health. Although it is part of many successful and effective experiments, it could be raised as an ethical question. Works cited Antonanzas, F., Rive, B., Badenas, J., Gomez-Lus, S. and Guilhaume, C. (2006). Cost-effectiveness of memantine in community patients with Alzheimer's disease: an adaptation in Spain. The European Journal of Health Economics, 7(2), 137-144.