Archive for the ‘Alzheimer’s Disease Medication’ Category
Alzheimer’s disease and what Aricept can do
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and it is predicted that it will affect one person in 85 by the year 2050, mainly due to enhanced life expectancy. In most cases, this disease affects people over the age of 65, although it is also possible that even younger people might suffer from Alzheimer’s. Even though the symptoms and the development of the disease differ from one person to the other, there are certain symptoms that can be observed in most of the patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The symptoms change as the disease progresses and in most cases, the disease is not diagnosed until later stages. In the first stages, the symptoms such as inability to acquire new memories are often disregarded as signs of stress or age-related symptoms. SA the disease progresses, other symptoms start to appear, such as confusion, aggression, irritability, language breakdown, mood swings, long-term memory loss and withdrawal of the person as the senses become more and more compromised. In time, basic bodily functions get lost and inevitably, Alzheimer’s disease leads to death. The life expectance varies from individual to individual, but it very rarely exceeds 7 years.
The biggest problem with treating Alzheimer’s disease is the fact that we are still pretty much in the dark when it comes to causes of this disease and the way in which we can affect the progression of the disease, or at least do something to prevent it. The only prevention that is recommended is exercise, mental and physical, as well as a balanced diet. These are also ways in which Alzheimer’s disease can be managed.
Aricept is one of the rare medications that has shown beneficial effects on the patients who are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. For one, use of Aricept has shown to be effective in benefiting behavior and cognition to a certain extent. It is primarily used in patients with moderate stage Alzheimer’s, although some recent research has shown that v can also have beneficial effects in patients with severe stage of the disease.
In some cases, Aricept is combined with a newer medication for Alzheimer’s, called memantine. Together, these drugs have shown better results than when used alone. This combination has shown improvement in cognition, behavior and functioning.
Aricept is also sometimes used in treating other conditions, such as Lewy body dementia, as well as vascular dementia. There have also been some results that have shown the efficacy of Aricept in treating sleep apnea in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s. There have also been some studies done to ascertain if Aricept is useful in treating other conditions, such as schizophrenia, mild cognitive impairment, post-coronary bypass cognitive impairment, attention deficit disorder, CADASIL syndrome as well as Down syndrome. Some beneficial effects have also been observed when Aricept is used to improve speech in autistic children.