Medication

Are there any drugs available to treat Alzheimer's?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved four drugs to treat AD. For people with mild or moderate AD, donepezil (Aricept®), rivastigmine (Exelon®), or galantamine (Razadyne®) may help maintain cognitive abilities and help control certain behavioral symptoms for a few months to a few years. Donepezil can be used for severe AD, too. Another drug, memantine (Namenda®), is used to treat moderate to severe AD. However, these drugs don’t stop or reverse AD and appear to help patients only for months to a few years.

Where can I find information about medications prescribed by my doctor?

Always talk to your doctor or pharmacist for specific medication questions.  For general questions about drugs, the NIH’s National Library of Medicine’s website, MedlinePlus (www.medlineplus.gov), offers information about side effects, dosage, special precautions, and more, about hundreds of prescription and over-the-counter drugs and supplements. You will also find useful information at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website at www.fda.gov.

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