23. How is Alzheimer's disease treated? No treatment is yet available that can stop Alzheimer's disease. However, for some people in the early and middle stages of the disease, the drugs Aricept®, Exelon®, or Razadyne® -- also known as Reminyl® -- may help prevent some symptoms from becoming worse for a limited time. Aricept® is also approved for severe symptoms of Alzheimer's. Memantine, also known by its brand name Namenda®, is approved for use in moderate to severe forms of the disease.
Also, some medicines may help control behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer's disease such as sleeplessness, agitation, wandering,
Anxiety, and
Depression. Treating these symptoms often makes people with Alzheimer's more comfortable and makes their care easier.
24. Will a vaccine one day prevent Alzheimer's disease? Early vaccine studies in mice successfully reduced beta-amyloid plaques in the brain and improved the way mice performed on memory tests. But when the studies were conducted in humans, they had to be stopped because some participants experienced side effects. However, scientists are continuing to study variations in the vaccine approach in the hope that they will reduce the beta-amyloid in the brain while minimizing harmful side effects.
25. Is vitamin E effective against Alzheimer's? Researchers funded by the National Institute on Aging recently completed a clinical trial focusing on the use of vitamin E in people with mild cognitive impairment, or MCI. MCI is a type of memory change that is different from both Alzheimer's and age-related memory change. People with MCI have ongoing memory problems, but do not have noticeable problems in other areas like confusion, attention problems, and difficulty with language.
This 3-year trial compared the drug donepezil or vitamin E to a
Placebo in people with mild cognitive impairment to see if the drug or vitamin might delay or prevent the development of Alzheimer's. The study found that taking vitamin E did not prevent or delay Alzheimer's disease in persons with MCI. It is possible that vitamin E may not help after memory loss has already started. However, donepezil, also known as Aricept®, did seem to delay the onset of Alzheimer's but only during the first year of treatment, providing no clear guidance to doctors about prescribing donepezil for people with MCI.
26. Can estrogen be used to treat Alzheimer's disease? Some studies have suggested that estrogen used by women to treat the symptoms of
Menopause also protects the brain. Experts also wondered whether using estrogen could reduce the risk of Alzheimer's or slow the disease.
Clinical trials to test estrogen, however, have not shown that it can slow the progression of Alzheimer's in women who have already been diagnosed with the disease. And one study found that women over the age of 65 who used estrogen with a progestin were at greater risk for
Dementia, including Alzheimer's. The study also showed that older women who used only estrogen could increase their risk of developing dementia.
Scientists believe that more research is needed to find out if estrogen may play some role in Alzheimer's. They would like to know whether starting estrogen therapy around the time of menopause, rather than at age 65 or older, will protect memory or prevent Alzheimer's disease, and an NIH trial is testing that possibility.
27. Are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen effective against Alzheimer's disease? There is evidence that
Inflammation in the brain may contribute to the damage caused by Alzheimer's disease. Some studies have suggested that drugs such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, might help slow the progression of Alzheimer's. So far, however, clinical trials have not shown a benefit from these drugs.
A clinical trial studying two of these drugs, Vioxx and Aleve, showed that they did not delay the progression of Alzheimer's in people who already had the disease. In another trial, testing whether the NSAIDs Celebrex and Aleve could prevent Alzheimer's in healthy older people at risk for the disease, the drugs were stopped, although subjects continue to be followed for safety. New reports showed that Celebrex was linked to an increased risk for heart disease and a preliminary review of the data on Aleve from the trial suggested a possible increased risk for heart disease and
Stroke.
Researchers are continuing to look for ways to test how other anti-inflammatory drugs might affect the development or progression of Alzheimer's.
28. Does being physically active help prevent Alzheimer's? Although there is no evidence that
Exercise can prevent Alzheimer's disease, there is growing evidence that being physically active may improve mental function. In one recent study, researchers used
Magnetic resonance imaging, or
MRI, to measure changes in the brain activity of healthy older adults before and after a six-month program of brisk walking. They found that the group of walkers was able to pay attention better and focus more clearly on goals without becoming distracted compared to a group that was not physically active.
In another study of 6,000 healthy women 65 years and older, researchers found that women who were more physically active were less likely to experience mental decline than women who were inactive.
29. What options are there for people who want to help test new treatments for Alzheimer's disease? People with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment or even healthy people who want to help scientists test possible treatments may be able to take part in clinical trials. Clinical trials are research studies with people to find out whether a new drug or treatment is both safe and effective.
New therapies are tested on people only after laboratory and animal studies show promising results. The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, sets strict rules to make sure that people who agree to be in the studies are treated as safely as possible.
To make it easier for people to find out about studies, the National Institute on Aging, or NIA, maintains the Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Trials Database. It lists clinical studies for Alzheimer's disease that are sponsored by the federal government and private companies.
To find out about studies, contact the NIA's ADEAR Center at 1-800-438-4380 or visit the ADEAR Center web site at
www.alzheimers.org/trials/index.html.
30. What other resources exist that can provide information about Alzheimer's disease?
The National Institute on Aging's Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center, or the ADEAR Center, is a reliable source of information about Alzheimer's disease and about ongoing clinical trials. Contact ADEAR at 1-800-438-4380 or visit the web site at www.alzheimers.org.
Diagnosis/Symptoms
Alzheimer's Diagnosis (Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation)
Alzheimer's Disease Info: Questions to Ask the Doctor( Administration on Aging)
ApoE (Apolipoprotein E) Genotyping (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
Mild Cognitive Impairment (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Understanding Alzheimer's Disease (Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation)
Understanding Stages and Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease (National Institute on Aging)
Additional Resources & Information:
2007 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures
Alzheimer's Disease - Unraveling The Mystery (PDF)
Understanding Alzheimer's (PDF)
