Post-Diagnosis Steps

MEDICAL TREATMENTS

• Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease.
• Researchers are continually testing the effectiveness of various drug therapies that will control symptoms; slow, reduce and/or reverse mental and behavioral symptoms; and prevent or halt the disease.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has so far approved four drugs for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. They are tacrine (Cognex®), introduced in 1993; donepezil hydrochloride (Aricept®), marketed since 1996; rivastigmine (Exelon®), available since the spring 2000; and galantamine hydrobromide (Razadyne^TM-formerly called Reminyl®), approved in February 2001. These drugs inhibit the enzyme that breaks down the brain chemical acetylcholine, and thereby may help slow the worsening of symptoms.
• The FDA in October 2003 approved memantine HCI (Namenda^TM) for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease, which can slow the decline in mental function.
• The National Institute on Aging, in concert with the FDA, tracks private- and government-sponsored clinical trials; contact the Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center (www.alzheimers.org/trials or 800-438-4380).