The fight against neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, and against that cognitive decline called dementia, is still an uphill battle. Despite ongoing research, science has not yet found a real cure for these brain diseases. From time to time, however, there is good news from the academic society. For example, the results of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine seem to give courage and hope. The study concerns the effects of a drug often underestimated by the medical community, but which would give excellent results on patients. Few use this drug but it would give great benefits against Alzheimer’s and dementia by improving memory and cognitive skills, according to experts. To get to say a lot, the researchers tested the drug on a large sample, which they then monitored over time.
Few use this drug but it would give great benefits against Alzheimer’s and dementia by improving memory and cognitive skills
British doctors had already tested the benefits of a drug, Aricept, on patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Recent studies on a second drug appear to yield even better results. The new drug, which would stem the symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s, is memantine. This generic drug is already on the market in both the UK and the US, under the respective trade names of Ebixa and Nemenda. These drugs appear to have improved memory and cognitive ability in dementia and Alzheimer’s patients already treated with Aricept.
The results are very encouraging and could be an important step against a disease, such as Alzheimer’s, which affects a large portion of the world‘s population. There are about 18 million people with Alzheimer’s to date, but without intervention they could exceed 66 million by 2050.
Has a research discovered the new drug against these neurodegenerative diseases?
The experimentation on memantine was long and painstaking. The English study, later published in the “New England Journal of Medicine”, involved a sample of 295 Alzheimer’s patients. The researchers divided the sample into four groups. Only two of these groups took memantine: one alone, while the other together with a second drug, donepezil (alternative to Aricept). According to experts, the results obtained with the use of memantine, even on severe Alzheimer’s and dementia sufferers, are unmatched. The drug appears to have effects on memory and cognitive abilities, giving benefits even in the most difficult cases.
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