Dementia is a devastating illness for which currently there is no curative
treatment. In the last twenty years, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors have been approved
in mild to moderate stages of the illness to delay the progression of Alzheimer’s
disease, the most prevalent form of dementia, while memantine has been approved for
later stages. Clinical experience shows that drug treatment of cognitive symptoms is of
little benefit, but there is evidence that both acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and
memantine could be helpful to alleviate the behavioral and psychological symptoms of
dementia, especially in variants where other alternatives, such as antipsychotics, can be
detrimental.
Keywords: Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, Alzheimer’s disease, Antipsychotics,
Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, Citicoline, Dementia,
Dihydrotoxine, Donepezil, Galantamine, Huperzine A, Lewy body disease,
Meclofenoxate, Memantine, Mild cognitive impairment, Neurodegeneration,
Nicotinic receptors, NMDA receptors, Parkinson’s disease, Piracetam, Psychosis,
Rivastigmine, Tacrine, Transdermal rivastigmine, Vascular dementia,
Vasodilators.
