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Yes

Serge Gauthier, MD, FRCPC
From the McGill Centre for Studies in Aging, and Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, and Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Arch Neurol. 1999;56:738-739.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

BACKGROUND TO CHOLINERGIC ENHANCEMENT IN ALZHEIMER DISEASE

Since the acetylcholine deficit associated with Alzheimer disease (AD) was recognized in the mid-1970s, there has been a systematic attempt to increase central nervous system cholinergic activity by pharmacological manipulations. The main classes of drugs tested so far include acetylcholine precursors, releasing agents, cholinesterase inhibitors (CIs), and muscarinic agonists. The expectations were that cholinergic enhancement would improve symptoms of AD in a way similar to dopamine enhancement in Parkinson disease.

Core symptoms of AD include (1) cognitive impairment, primarily in the realm of memory, orientation, and language in the early stages, (2) loss of functional autonomy from instrumental to basic self-care tasks, and (3) emergence of neuropsychiatric disturbances, including agitation or apathy, delusions, and aggressiveness. A variety of scales have been developed to reliably measure the severity of such symptoms. This illness has an obvious but difficult-to-quantify impact on the quality of life of patients and . . . [Full Text of this Article]

PLACEBO-CONTROLLED CLINICAL STUDIES OF CIs

ARE CIs A USEFUL TREATMENT FOR AD IN CLINICAL PRACTICE?

DO WE HAVE A DRUG TREATMENT FOR ALZHEIMER DISEARS? YES

CONCLUSIONS

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