Treatments+of+Alzheimer's+Disease,+JM

media type="custom" key="3645077" Although there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease, in the future advances in genetics such as gene therapy may be able to prevent even cure Alzheimer’s disease. Today however, there are treatments for Alzheimer’s disease that treat the symptoms and if taken early enough may even slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Besides emotion oriented and psychological oriented therapies that can help to a lesser degree, there are four medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agencies (EMEA):
 * ** Aricept: ** Aricept helps by slow down the breaking down of a chemical called acetylcholine. In the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients there is a lack of sufficient acetylcholine which causes some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Aricept helps to slow the breakdown of acetylcholine. It is the only medication approved for all four stages of Alzheimer’s disease. It can improve mental functions which have an effect on memory and daily living. Though Aricept can slow down Alzheimer’s disease it is not a cure and cannot work indefinitely


 * ** Exelon/Razadyne: ** One of the four FDA and EMEA approved treatments is Exelon/Razadyne. Excelon/Razadyne works similarly to Aricept by inhibiting the breakdown of Aricept. However, it is newer and aimed for the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease specifically to slow down its progression


 * ** Cognex: ** Cognex is another drug similar to Aricept that works by inhibiting the breakdown of Aricept. However Cognex has more severe side effects such as nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rash, and indigestion and in some people it may even cause liver damage.


 * ** Namenda: ** Namenda helps by regulating a chemical glutamate. Glutamate is a chemical that regulates how much of a certain chemical is allowed into the brain. In Alzheimer’s disease patients there is too much Glutamate. The excess of glutamate blocks important chemicals need for healthy brain function to be released. Namenda works by reducing the amount of glutamate, which in turn allows more of the necessary chemicals into the brain, which in turn increases the brains ability to process information and retrieve memories. Namenda is approved for moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease.

Watch the above video to learn more about Alzheimer's Disease and what scientist are doing to find a cure.

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How is Namenda unlike the other drugs? How are the drugs besides Namend alike? How effective are these drugs?
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