There are few diseases which have as bleek a future as Alzheimer's disease. The disease has devastating effect on the personality of a person. Imagine a man with plundered memories, frayed personality and lost identity. Even a century after a German physician first described the condition, we still do not have definite answer to many questions, and we have no cure.

  In recent years scientists have made advances and we know lot about this disease. It is now possible to diagnose the disease with as much as 90-percent certainty.
It is identified in three progressively worsening stages: mild, moderate and severe.

Drugs for Alzheimer's disease.

There is No Miracle available for patients with AD, But Some Drugs
Two drugs that fight Alzheimer's and have been aproved by FDA are:
Tacrine ( Cognex )
Donezepil ( Aricept )

Tacrine: The drug prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine, a brain chemical needed for normal memory and learning. It frequently produces a modest improvement in symptoms, increasing alertness and thinking skills. However, it's temporary — the drug doesn't significantly alter the course of disease — and it commonly causes gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. More worrisome, it can cause liver damage. Patients must have regular blood monitoring to avoid liver problems.

Donezepil: Like tacrine, it boosts acetylecholine, with equally effective results. In addition, it produces fewer GI side effects, doesn't cause liver damage and is taken once a day vs. the bothersome four-times-a-day regimen of tacrine. Consequently, almost all patients now start out on Aricept.

 Drugs in pipeline : Rivastigmine and Metrifonate

Other Medications

Vitamin E :
Vitamin E — 2,000 IUs daily — prevented declines in functioning for about seven months. The study showed middle-stage patients maintained their ability to perform "activities of daily living" — bathing, dressing, using the toilet.

NSAIDs :
A study has suggested that middle-aged people who used Ibuprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID, for two years or more had as much as a 60 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's. Other reports suggest that people with Rheumatoid Arthritis, who often take high doses of these drugs, have lower than average rates of the disease.

Estrogen :
Several studies suggest estrogen guards against Alzheimer's in women. In one study of 1,124 postmenopausal women, those who took estrogen had a 30 to 40 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's.

Gingko biloba :
A study showed that this plant extract aided memory and improved daily-living functions. Many medical experts have criticized the study's design and want more research.

Lithium :
Lithum has been used for treatment of Manic depression. New research shows it may also help those with Alzheime's disease. It is found that abnormal glutamate receptors play a role in manic depression. Since glutamate receptors are implicated in the brain cell death in Alzheimer's disease along with Huntington's and Parkinson's disease. It raises the possibility of lithium being useful in the treatment of these neurodegenerative disorders.

Selegine:

Nicotine - in the treatment of brain diseases

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