| Drug for late-stage Alzheimer's NO
one has discovered a way to prevent the progressive deterioration of memory,
behaviour and everyday functioning that define Alzheimer's disease. However,
might a drug that helps people at a mild or moderate stage of the disease
also benefit those with a severe case?
A study randomly assigned 248 people diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's
disease to take donepezil or a placebo daily. All participants lived in
nursing homes or assisted-living facilities. After six months, cognitive
skills (including memory, language and social interactions) generally
improved in people taking donepezil, whereas they continued to decline in
those taking the placebo. Overall, the ability to perform such daily tasks
as eating, dressing, turning lights on and off and getting a drink of water
worsened for both groups, but less so for people taking the drug.
Who may be affected by these findings? People with severe Alzheimer's,
the stage at which a person doesn't recognise family members, becomes
difficult to understand and may forget how to do such previously instinctive
things as swallow, walk and smile.
Caveats: Whether the results would be applicable to people not living
in a care facility remain unclear; some Alzheimer's studies have shown
differing results for people who live in private homes, compared with those
in care facilities. Nearly all participants took other medications during
the study, including analgesics, antidepressants and antipsychotics. The
findings may not apply to people with forms of dementia other than
Alzheimer's. About 26% of those taking the drug and 17% of the placebo group
did not complete the study. |
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