Alzheimer's Disease Health Center

Tools & Resources

 Early-Onset Alzheimer's Signs
 Alzheimer's Caregiver Checklist
 5 Myths About Alzheimer's
 Habits That Can Hurt Your Brain
 Diet May Cut Alzheimer's Odds
 10 Types of Dementia
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Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease

In this article
 How to Choose a Treatment
 What Medications Can Help?
 More Research
Right now, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. Once a person starts showing signs
– memory loss and problems with learning, judgment, communication, and daily life --
there aren’t any treatments that can stop or reverse them.

But there are medicines that can ease some of the symptoms in some people. They can
slow down how quickly the disease gets worse, and help the brain work better for
longer. It’s important to talk to your doctor about which option may work best for you.

How to Choose a Treatment

Your doctor will help you choose the best treatment based on a few things about you,
including:

 Your age, overall health, and medical history

 How severe your disease is
 How well a medicine or therapy will work for you and your
lifestyle
 Your preferences or those of your family or caregivers

What Medications Can Help?

Some drugs curb the breakdown of a chemical in the brain, called acetylcholine, that’s
important for memory and learning. They may slow down how fast symptoms get worse
for about half of people who take them. The effect lasts for a limited time, on average 6
to 12 months. Common side effects are usually mild for these medications and
includediarrhea, vomiting, nausea, fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, and weight loss.
There are three drugs of this type: donepezil (Aricept), galantamine (Razadyne),
and rivastigmine (Exelon).

 Aricept is the only treatment approved by the FDA for all stages
of Alzheimer’s disease: mild, moderate, and severe. You can
take it as a tablet that you swallow or that dissolves in
your mouth.
 Razadyne (formerly called Reminyl) is also for mild to moderate
Alzheimer’s. You can get it as a tablet that works right away, a
capsule that gives off the medicine slowly, and in liquid forms.
 Exelon is for people who have mild to moderate Alzheimer’s.
You can wear a skin patch that has the drug, or take it in
capsules and in liquid form.
 Memantine (Namenda)treats moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's
disease. It works by changing the amount of a brain chemical
called glutamate, which plays a role in learning and memory.
Brain cells in people with Alzheimer’s disease give off too much
glutamate. Namenda keeps the levels of that chemical in check.
It may improve how well the brain works and how well some
people can do everyday tasks. The drug may work even better
when you take it with Aricept, Exelon, or Razadyne. Namenda’s
side effects include tiredness, dizziness,
confusion, constipation, and headache.
 Namzaric . This drug is a mix of Namenda and Aricept. It's best
for people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's who already
take the two drugs separately.
Doctors can also prescribe medicines for other health problems that happen along with
the disease, including depression, sleeplessness, and behavior problems like agitation
and aggression.

More Research
Scientists are looking for new treatments for Alzheimer’s in clinical trials. These studies
test new drugs to see if they can slow the disease from getting worse or improve
memory problems or other symptoms. They’re also looking for other ways beyond drugs
to treat the disease, such as an Alzheimer’s vaccine.

Many peopled hoped that supplements such as vitamin E, coenzyme Q10,

coral calcium, ginkgo biloba, and huperzine A might work well as treatments for the
disease. But so far, there’s no evidence that they have any effect. The results of studies
on omega-3 fatty acids have been mixed, and scientists are doing more research to
look into their effects on Alzheimer’s.

Scientists continue to look for ways to diagnose Alzheimer’s earlier, before symptoms
appear, which could help people start treatment sooner.

Treatment & Care

Alzheimer's treatment and Alzheimer's care go hand in hand. There's no cure -- yet. But as you'll see
here, there's a lot that can be done.

Treatment
Treatment Options

Learn how medications, sensory therapy, alternative medicine, and more can help Alzheimer's symptoms.

Medications

Get the details on medications used to treat Alzheimer's.

NMDA Receptor Antagonists and Alzheimer's

NMDA (short for N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor antagonists are a class of drugs that may help treat
Alzheimer's Disease.

Treating Behavior Problems

Alzheimer's patients may become agitated. Here's how Alzheimer's agitation can be treated.

Alzheimer's Research

Alzheimer's research promises future treatments. Here's a peek into the crystal ball.

Care
Where to Begin When a Loved One Has Alzheimer’s

When someone you love gets diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it’s hard to know where to start planning for
the future. Your new role as caregiver can be overwhelming. As the decision maker, you’ll need to have
an action plan in place. Here’s a checklist of things to consider.

Home Safety

Here's how to make home a safe place for a person with Alzheimer's disease.

Making a Decision on Long-Term Care

Putting a relative in a nursing home is a difficult decision. You'll have to weigh social, financial, and
personal issues. Read about some of the factors you should think about when making this decision.

Alzheimer's Day Care

No matter how great a caregiver you are for someone with Alzheimer's, eventually you’re going to need a
break. Sometimes, a nearby family member or friend can step in while you run errands or get some
exercise. But in other cases, adult day care may be the way to go.

Alzheimer's Care Facility

There are many types of care available for families dealing with Alzheimer's disease.

Assisted Living Facilities for Alzheimer's Disease

When someone with Alzheimer’s disease can’t live alone anymore, an assisted living facility is one way to
make sure she gets the care and attention she needs in a safe place.

Legal Issues

After an Alzheimer's diagnosis, take care of legal issues as soon as possible. Here's how to get started.

Financial Planning

Financial planning is a must for a person with an Alzheimer's diagnosis. Here's how to get started.

Advance Directives

Some types of health conditions, like Alzheimer's disease, mean that at some point you might not be able
to make your own decisions about the health care you get. In these cases, it helps to have legal
documents with instructions on the kind of treatment you want. These documents are called advance
directives.

Long-Distance Caregiving

If your mother has Alzheimer's disease and lives in Phoenix and you're in New York, how do you help
take care of her? This article is adapted from Heath's book, Long-Distance Caregiving: A Survival Guide
for Far Away Caregivers.
 Early-Onset Dementia: A Caregiver's Guide

Dementia makes it difficult to think clearly, to remember things, and to communicate with others. Early-
onset dementia refers to changes that begin before age 65. It can start as early as age 30 but usually
happens around age 50.

Drug treatments and non drug treatments

In most instances, there are no ways to cure the diseases that cause dementia.

However, there are drugs available that may alleviate some of the symptoms.

Drug treatments for Alzheimer's disease

There are a variety of drugs that can help the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease or slow the progression of
the disease.

 Read more about drug treatments

Information on antipsychotics
If you are worried about a person with dementia being prescribed antipsychotics we have all the
information you need.

 Read about antipsychotics

Access to drugs campaign

Alzheimer's drug treatments have made a significant difference to quality of life for thousands of people
with Alzheimer's disease and their carers. The Access to drugs campaign has already had significant
success, but there is still much work to be done.

 Find out more about the Access to drugs campaign

Talking therapies
Talking therapies give people the chance to speak in confidence to a trained professional about problems
or issues that are causing them concern. Talking therapies include counselling, psychotherapy and
cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

 Read about talking therapies

Complementary and alternative medicine and dementia

Read more about the issues surrounding the use of complementary and alternative treatments and the
current evidence for their effectiveness.