Treatment+of+Alzheimer's+Disease

This is the conclusion of the series on articles about Alzheimer's Disease.

Although there is currently no way to cure [|Alzheimer's disease] or stop its progression, researchers are making encouraging advances in Alzheimer's treatment, including medications and non-drug approaches to improve symptom management. When physicians develop treatment plans, they often consider cognitive and behavioral symptoms separately.

Cognitive symptoms include problems with thought processes like memory, language, and judgment. Two kinds of medications have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's disease:
 * Cognitive Symptoms**

Cholinesterase inhibitors postpone the worsening of symptoms for 6 to 12 months in about half of the people who take it. Namenda (memantine) is used to treat moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease and may delay the worsening of symptoms in some people.

Cholinesterase inhibitors can be started as soon as Alzheimer's symptoms appear -- in fact, they are most effective in the early stages of the disease. When a physician determines that the cholinesterase inhibitor is no longer effective, he or she often recommends tapering off the cholinesterase inhibitor and introducing memantine. Sometimes, memantine and a cholinesterase inhibitor are taken simultaneously during the moderate stage of the disease.

Often the most challenging for caregivers, behavioral symptoms include agitation; suspicion, and depression. Although caregivers often take personally the behaviors exhibited toward them, it's important to remember that behavioral symptoms are just as much a result of damage to brain cells as are cognitive symptoms.
 * Behavioral Symptoms**

Some medications are useful for managing behavioral symptoms. However, the risk of drug reactions and/or interactions runs high among those with Alzheimer's, so caution should be used when medications are prescribed to deal with behavioral issues. A combination of drug and non-drug treatments often works best.

Non-drug treatments involve analyzing the behavior, identifying what may have triggered it, and devising an approach that either changes the person's environment or the caregiver's reaction to the behavior.

While physicians are skilled at prescribing medications to treat behavioral symptoms, they may not be familiar with non-drug interventions. Most caregivers learn about behavior management through their own research and by connecting with other caregivers through support groups and online support networks.