AD Lib

ID: 11247
Title:Review: Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease: How Effective Are Current Treatments?
Publication Year: 2009
Format(s): Journal Article , Online Resource
Language(s): English
Audience(s): Physicians , Psychiatrists , Neurologists , Geriatricians
Author(s): Lanctot, K.L.; , Rajaram, R.D.; , Herrmann, N.
Source: Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders. 2(3): 163-189. May 2009.

Abstract: Available symptomatic therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have been based on known neurotransmitter dysfunctions associated with the illness. The second-generation cholinesterase inhibitors (ChIEs) and the N-methyl D-aspartate receptor antagonist memantine have been widely prescribed and studied. In this article, the authors review meta-analyses of these therapies, focusing on effectiveness and tolerability. While the results of these analyses consistently show efficacy with statistical significance, conclusions about their clinical significance differ among clinicians. Some believe that ChIEs have demonstrated important improvements for most outcomes including cognition, global assessment, behavior, and function. Yet even these proponents agree that many of these studies are limited by a too-short treatment period and that studies of long-term outcomes are needed. Others believe that much of the reported data are flawed based on methodological limitations of the pivotal studies, and the reported improvements cannot be considered clinically significant. New drugs with disease-modifying potential are under development, but it will likely be years before any of them are deemed efficacious and approved. 1 figure, 2 tables, 115 references.

Availability: Available from SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. (805) 499 9774. E-mail: journals@sagepub.com. Website: http://www.tan.sagepub.com. PRICE: $30.00 per article from publisher; free online access from Medscape.com for registered users.
Major Descriptor(s): ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE , DRUG-THERAPY , DRUG-DEVELOPMENT , LITERATURE-REVIEWS , CHOLINESTERASE-INHIBITORS , MEMANTINE
Minor Descriptor(s): RESEARCH-NEEDS
Link(s): http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/703355/

New AD Lib Search