Medication for Alzheimer's Disease
- According to the Alzheimer's Association, health professionals divide Alzheimer's Disease symptoms into two categories: "cognitive" and "behavioral and psychiatric" symptoms. Cognitive symptoms affect memory, language, attention and planning, while behavioral and psychiatric symptoms affect the way individuals feel and act. Medications used to treat this disease help improve or slow the onset of both categories. The drugs work by targeting two neurotransmitters, or chemical messengers, in the brain: cholinesterase and memantine.
- For people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's, doctors prescribe cholinesterase inhibitors (Razadyne®, Exelon® or Aricept®), which prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine. This chemical helps support communication, learning and memory, and delays worsening of symptoms, on average, for six to 12 months for half the patients who use them.
For people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's, doctors will usually prescribe memantine (Namenda®), which helps regulate glutamate in the brain, another neurotransmitter that affects learning and memory.
These medications delay the progression of cognitive symptoms, but Alzheimer's Disease also affects the way a person feels and acts. This includes symptoms like emotional distress, verbal or physical outbursts, restlessness, delusions and hallucinations. Medications can be used to manage depression, anxiety, hallucinations or delusions, but according to the Alzheimer's Association, nondrug approaches should always be tried first. This includes counseling, emotional support from loved ones, changing the person's environment to minimize obstacles and increase comfort and security and simply understanding the nature of the disease, why these symptoms occur, and that the patient is not a "mean or ornery" person, but is suffering from effects of the disease. - Side effects of cholinesterase inhibitors include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, an increase in bowel movements or constipation (depending on the specific drug), headaches and dizziness. With Cognex®, liver failure is also a rare but potential side effect.
- The severity of side effects and the effectiveness of the drugs vary from one individual to the next. It is best to consult with doctors before deciding on any medication for a loved one with Alzheimer's.
- Researchers are trying to find more effective ways to manage Alzheimer's symptoms and even treatments to cure the disease. Clinical trials are the best way to find out if treatments are safe and effective, and volunteer participants are needed throughout the United States. To find more information, talk to your doctor or go to the ADEAR Center's website