Alzheimer's disease

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Treatment

There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's disease. Currently available medications offer relatively small symptomatic benefit for some patients but do not slow disease progression. The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry published a consensus statement on Alzheimer's treatment in 2006.[1]

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

Randomized controlled trials showed either small or absent benefit from acetylcholinesterase inhibitors[2] such as donepezil.[3][4]

N-methyl d-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists

Memantine has shown effectiveness.[5]

References

  1. Lyketsos CG, Colenda CC, Beck C, et al (2006). "Position statement of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry regarding principles of care for patients with dementia resulting from Alzheimer disease". The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry 14 (7): 561–72. DOI:10.1097/01.JGP.0000221334.65330.55. PMID 16816009. Research Blogging.
  2. Kaduszkiewicz H, Zimmermann T, Beck-Bornholdt H, van den Bussche H (2005). "Cholinesterase inhibitors for patients with Alzheimer's disease: systematic review of randomised clinical trials.". BMJ 331 (7512): 321-7. PMID 16081444.
  3. Howard RJ, Juszczak E, Ballard CG, et al (2007). "Donepezil for the treatment of agitation in Alzheimer's disease". N. Engl. J. Med. 357 (14): 1382–92. DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa066583. PMID 17914039. Research Blogging.
  4. Courtney C, Farrell D, Gray R, Hills R, Lynch L, Sellwood E, Edwards S, Hardyman W, Raftery J, Crome P, Lendon C, Shaw H, Bentham P (2004). "Long-term donepezil treatment in 565 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD2000): randomised double-blind trial.". Lancet 363 (9427): 2105-15. PMID 15220031.
  5. Areosa Sastre A, McShane R, Sherriff F. "Memantine for dementia.". Cochrane Database Syst Rev: CD003154. PMID 15495043.