Common Alzheimer’s drug could slower cognitive decline

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Cholinesterase inhibitors are a group of drugs recommended for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, but their effects on cognition have been debated.

In a new study, researchers found persisting cognitive benefits and reduced mortality for up to five years after diagnosis.

The research was conducted by a team from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and elsewhere.

Alzheimer’s disease is a cognitive brain disease that affects millions of patients around the world. Most of those who receive a diagnosis are over 65, but there are some patients who are diagnosed in their 50s.

In Alzheimer’s disease changes to several chemical neurotransmitters in the brain are found, and thus to the ability of the neurons to communicate with each other.

Acetylcholine is one such substance and plays a key role in cognitive functions such as memory, attention and concentration.

There are three drugs that work as cholinesterase inhibitors and that are used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: galantamine, donepezil and rivastigmine.

The effects of cholinesterase inhibitors have, however, been debated, partly because there are relatively few clinical studies.

In the study, the team used data from SveDem (the Swedish Dementia Registry), in which 11,652 patients treated with cholinesterase inhibitors and a matched control group of 5,826 untreated patients.

The results showed that treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors was associated with slower cognitive decline over five years, and 27% lower mortality in patients with Alzheimer’s disease compared with the controls.

Of all three drugs, galantamine had the strongest effect on cognition, which may be due to its effect on nicotine receptors and its inhibiting effect on the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, which breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

The results provide strong support for current recommendations to treat people with Alzheimer’s disease with cholinesterase inhibitors, but also show that the therapeutic effect lasts for a long time.

The study is published in Neurology. One author of the study is Hong Xu.

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