Of these, the first-line agents are the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine. These drugs increase levels of acetylcholine—an important neurotransmitter that is responsible for memory and cognitive function—in the brain by preventing enzymatic breakdown of acetylcholine.
Treatment for mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease
Three drugs used to treat AD are all in one family, called cholinesterase inhibitors, which boost brain levels of acetylcholine: Galantamine (Razadyne®) Rivastigmine (Exelon®) Donepezil (Aricept®)
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted accelerated approval to a new Alzheimer's treatment called lecanemab, which has been shown to moderately slow cognitive and functional decline in early-stage cases of the disease.
Cholinisterase Inhibitors are the most commonly prescribed medications for dementia. There are 3 cholinisterase inhibitors, which include, Donepezil, Galantamine and Rivastigmine.
A medication known as memantine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, can be prescribed to treat moderate to severe Alzheimer's. This drug's main effect is to decrease symptoms, which could enable some people to maintain certain daily functions a little longer than they would without the medication.
Donepezil and rivastigmine
Donepezil tablets are by far the most common medication used to treat dementia. Rivastigmine tends only to be used when donepezil causes side effects, or if the person can't take it for medical reasons.
Lecanemab was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment for early Alzheimer's disease in January 2023. This means that it can now be given to patients with early Alzheimer's disease in the USA.
Known as donanemab, the medication clears amyloid plaque from the brain. In a late trial, the drug slowed memory and thinking declines in early symptomatic Alzheimer's patients by more than a third, Lilly said Wednesday.
Cholinesterase inhibitors are the first choice of treatment for memory loss. The doctor may also prescribe the single-dose drug combination Namzeric to treat moderate to severe memory loss.
Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.
The Mini-Cog test.
A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.
The average life expectancy figures for the most common types of dementia are as follows: Alzheimer's disease – around eight to 10 years. Life expectancy is less if the person is diagnosed in their 80s or 90s. A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years.
Safer Medications to Consider
Alternative prescription medications include ramelteon (Rozerem®), low dose trazodone (Oleptro®, Desyrel®) or low dose mirtazapine (Remeron®).
It is recommended that people with Alzheimer's should NOT take anticholinergic drugs. These drugs are used to treat many medical problems such as sleeping problems, stomach cramps, incontinence, asthma, motion sickness, and muscle spasms. Side effects, such as confusion, can be serious for a person with Alzheimer's.
Haloperidol (Haldol®) Olanzapine (Zyprexa®) Quetiapine (Seroquel®) Risperidone (Risperdal®)
According to the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation, regular physical exercise can reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by up to 50 percent. What's more, exercise can also slow further deterioration in those who have already started to develop cognitive problems.
The drug, lecanemab, which was recently granted accelerated approval in the United States, is an antibody that has been shown to remove sticky deposits of a protein called amyloid beta from the brains of patients in the early stages of the mind-wasting disease.
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Leqembi (lecanemab-irmb) via the Accelerated Approval pathway for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Leqembi is the second of a new category of medications approved for Alzheimer's disease that target the fundamental pathophysiology of the disease.
What are the foods that fight memory loss? Berries, fish, and leafy green vegetables are 3 of the best foods that fight memory loss. There's a mountain of evidence showing they support and protect brain health.
In Alzheimer's disease, as neurons are injured and die throughout the brain, connections between networks of neurons may break down, and many brain regions begin to shrink. By the final stages of Alzheimer's, this process—called brain atrophy—is widespread, causing significant loss of brain volume.