Medical Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease
Medical Treatment to Slow Memory Loss
There are two different classes of drugs used to treat memory loss in Alzheimer's patients. They are usually given alone, but research is underway to see if it might help to give patients both kinds of drugs at the same time.
Cholinesterase Inhibitors
People with Alzheimer' disease have low levels of a brain protein called acetylcholine that helps neurons send messages and is important for thinking and memory. Three of the four drugs approved to treat Alzheimer's disease work by helping the brain keep more acetylcholine around -- by inhibiting the enzyme (cholinesterase) that normally breaks acetylcholine down. The three drugs are called:
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Aricept
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Reminyl/Razadyne
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Exelon
Memantine
Memantine, known by the brand name Namenda, is the newest drug approved to treat Alzheimer's disease, and works by protecting specific receptors on brain cells that can be damaged by too much exposure to a brain chemical called glutamate (not to be confused with the food additive glutamate).
Medical Treatment to Ease Symptoms
In addition to memory loss, Alzheimer's patients usually have what are called “behavioral symptoms” or “psychiatric symptoms” which can include:
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anxiety
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depression
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agitation
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restlessness
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sleeplessness
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paranoia
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delusions
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hallucinations.
In many ways, these symptoms are at least as troubling and difficult to manage as memory loss.
Many medical treatments exist that can help with these symptoms; but it is also important not to over medicate Alzheimer's patients because many drugs that treat these symptoms have serious side effects.
In addition, an experienced medical practitioner can also recommend simple changes in your household that may help ease symptoms. For example, sometimes lighting changes can reduce sleep disturbances, and a stop sign on a door can keep a patient from entering a dangerous area.
Experience Matters When Choosing Treatments
Managing Alzheimer's is a careful exercise in balancing benefits against side effects. The proper treatment plan can give a patient more time to have meaningful interactions with loved ones and ease caregiving when it becomes necessary. Conversely, a poor treatment plan can actually compound problems by inducing side effects without providing any useful benefit.
Physicians at the Stanford Neurosciences Center (and their colleagues in the Stanford/VA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center) have the skills and experience necessary to develop treatment plans that take into account each person's individual needs.