Disease Care

Alzheimer's Disease : Treatments

Alzheimer's is a complex disease, and no single "magic bullet" will prevent or cure it. Current treatments focus on helping people maintain mental function, managing behavioral symptoms, and slowing the disease's progression.

Medications

Numerous medications are intended to reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer's, by helping to slow memory loss and control behavioral problems. For people with mild or moderate Alzheimer's, donepezil, rivastigmine, or galantamine may help maintain cognitive abilities and help control certain behavioral symptoms for a few months to a few years. These drugs work by regulating neurotransmitters, the chemicals that transmit messages between neurons. They also may help maintain thinking, memory, and speaking skills and may help with certain behavioral problems. However, these drugs don't change the underlying disease process.

Other medicines may ease the behavioral symptoms: sleeplessness, agitation, wandering, anxiety, anger, and depression. Treating these symptoms often makes people more comfortable and makes their care easier for family members and other caregivers.

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