Alzheimer's drug shows staying power.Since its U.S. approval in 2003, the drug memantine has been prescribed to slow mental decline in people with moderate-to-advanced Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. . But studies hadn't addressed the drug's long-term effectiveness. Researchers report in the January Archives of Neurology The Archives of Neurology is a monthly professional medical journal published by the American Medical Association. Archives of Neurology publishes original, peer-reviewed scientific research of the nervous system as well as the various mechanisms of disease. that 66 people taking memantine for Alzheimer's disease continued to benefit for a year, the longest test of the drug to date, says coauthor Barry Reisberg, a geriatric geriatric /ger·i·at·ric/ (jer?e-at´rik) 1. pertaining to elderly persons or to the aging process. 2. pertaining to geriatrics. ger·i·at·ric adj. 1. psychiatrist at New York University New York University, mainly in New York City; coeducational; chartered 1831, opened 1832 as the Univ. of the City of New York, renamed 1896. It comprises 13 schools and colleges, maintaining 4 main centers (including the Medical Center) in the city, as well as the School of Medicine. During the first 6 months of the study, the benefits were assessed in comparison with Alzheimer's patients randomly assigned to take placebos (SN: 4/5/03, p. 211). People who switched from placebo to memantine after 6 months also benefited by 1 year. Memantine slows mental decline in Alzheimer's but doesn't reverse it, which is also the case for cholinesterase inhibitors cholinesterase inhibitor n. A drug, such as neostigmine, that restores myoneural function by inhibiting the biodegradation of acetylcholine. Also called acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. , which doctors prescribe for patients in the early stages of the disease. Researchers are investigating whether patients can get more benefit from using memantine along with cholinesterase inhibitors, Reisberg says.--N.S. |
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