ReviewEffective Pharmacologic Management of Alzheimer’s Disease
Section snippets
Recognizing Early Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease
The benefits of ChEI therapy may be diminished when treatment is delayed,8, 9, 10, 11 and affording patients the opportunity to maintain the highest levels of cognitive and functional ability possible requires early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.1 Diagnostic criteria should identify early-stage patients, and toward this end, the ADMC endorses the simplicity and easy applicability of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition (DSM-IV)12 diagnostic
Treatment Goals
In the absence of a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, goals of drug therapy include temporary improvement, stabilization, or less-than-expected decline of cognitive, functional, and behavioral symptoms. Accomplishing these goals may reduce caregiver burden and delay institutionalization. It is important that physicians explain to patients and their caregivers that clinical improvements may not always be evident and emphasize that drug therapy is intended to delay symptomatic decline. This is a
First-Line Treatment Pathways
The ADMC Clinical Consensus Panel has developed evidence-based, expert-endorsed treatment algorithms outlining strategies for outcome-effective pharmacologic management of patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease, patients with moderate-to-severe disease, and patients with severe disease (Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, respectively).7
As also recommended by the American Academy of Neurology,4 the ADMC Panel supports ChEIs as standard first-line treatment in patients with
Acknowledgment
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation provided financial support for the preparation of this manuscript.
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