Do Alzheimer's Medications Work, Who Should Take Them?

Over the years my clients have asked me, “Should my loved one be taking any of the Alzheimer’s medications?” By Bob DeMarco Alzheimer's Reading Room Over the years my answer has differed depending on how much I knew about the medications, the relative costs of the medications, and how much research has been done on the effectiveness of the medications. Here is what I’m saying currently. There are only 5 medicines that the FDA has approved for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. None of the medications cure the disease. None of the medications stop the disease process from continuing on long term, although they can slow the progress of the disease for a period of time. The current time frame for slowing the disease has been estimated to be between 18 months and 36 months depending on the individual. The medicines may hold the memory loss steady and/or positively impact some of the common Alzheimer’s “behaviors”, meaning anxiety, paranoia, aggressiveness and other “negative behaviors”. Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading Room Email: The current estimate is that about 30% of people who are taking the medicines are helped by the medicines, but 70% are not helped by them Alzheimer’s medicines approved by the FDA for early stage are: Razadyne (galantamine, Reminyl) Exelon (rivastigmine) Aricept (donepezil) Cognex (tacrine) not prescribed much anymore. Medicines that increase the effects of the above Alzheimer’s medicines ar...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Dementia Authors: Source Type: blogs