Understanding Alzheimer’s Medication: A Comprehensive Guide
Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive brain disorder, is the most common cause of dementia. It affects memory, thinking, and behavior, significantly impacting daily life. While there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, various medications can help manage its symptoms.To get more news about alzheimer's medication, you can visit shine news official website.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several drugs to treat Alzheimer’s at different stages — mild, moderate, and severe. These medications fall into two categories: drugs that change disease progression and drugs that mitigate some symptoms of Alzheimer’s dementia.
Drugs That Change Disease Progression
These drugs aim to slow the decline of memory and thinking, as well as function, in people living with Alzheimer’s disease. They target the underlying biology of the disease process.
One approach involves anti-amyloid treatments, which work by attaching to and removing beta-amyloid, a protein that accumulates into plaques, from the brain. Each drug works differently and targets beta-amyloid at a different stage of plaque formation.
These treatments change the course of the disease in a meaningful way for people in the early stages, giving them more time to participate in daily life and live independently. Clinical trial participants who received anti-amyloid treatments experienced a reduction in cognitive decline observed through measures of cognition and function.
However, anti-amyloid treatments do have side effects. These treatments can cause serious allergic reactions, infusion-related reactions, headaches, and falls. A common side effect is amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), a temporary swelling in areas of the brain that usually resolves over time.
Drugs That Mitigate Symptoms
The second category of Alzheimer’s medications includes drugs that may temporarily mitigate some symptoms of Alzheimer’s dementia. These drugs, known as symptomatic therapies, ease symptoms but don’t address the cause of the disease.
They include cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine. These Alzheimer’s treatments boost the performance of chemicals in the brain that carry information from one brain cell to another.
Conclusion
While current medications cannot cure Alzheimer’s, they can help manage the condition and improve the quality of life for those affected. It’s important to have a conversation with a healthcare professional to determine the most appropriate treatment plan.
