Does Aricept improve things (or merely slow down further degeneration)?

[Relm]

Assuming no adverse effects, what is normally the result of a dementia patient taking Aricept?

I have been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's but I also have some unexplained fluctuations every day during which I become extremely inattentive. I recently started Aricept and was pleased to find I got a modest but very distinct improvement in my attention and concentration.

(a) Does Aricept actually cause some degree of improvement in the dementia?

(b) Or does Aricept slow down further degeneration but not actually cause any improvement in the dementia?

-Relm

 

[timthumb]

i think results very but with my dad he had a long time of slight improvment then a good period of stability

i would defo recommend and i hope it does the same for you )

 

[rosaliesal]

Keep records

From my understanding the drug gives many more years of halting the progression. Talk to your doctor...give him a ring. Make notes for your own sake on how you feel each day. For example did you sleep well, were you stressed or tired on the days your memory seemed worse. The illness itself does come with good and bad days anyway. My mother has had it for 14 years and several times lately she has told me "I have a good life and enjoy my days out with you"...not bad for an 84 year old and she does not have any drugs. She was never offered the one you have but was given drugs to calm her. However a small dose made her sleep half the day and the bigger dose sent her to sleep all day and all night, staying in bed only for me to wake her to eat and drink. So I spoke to my doctor and they finally agreed that the drug she was on was good for most people but as she is diabetic the drugs do not mix well with this, something they have just discovered more recently. Focus on doing happy things because you may well have years and years like my mum to enjoy life. Focus on the good.

 

[CraigC]

Relm,

It definitely made a big difference to my father and slowed down the progression. I would say it was an improvement but difficult to quantify. In my opinion Aricept made dad more alert and comfortable and had a significant impact on his health (but some have had adverse effects). Lots of threads about Aricept on the forum and also worth searching the main site.

Shout if you need more information.
Kind Regards
Craig

 

[Kara]

Aricept

Father in law been on Aricept now for nearly 3 months, mini mental score examination to be done April by CPN, we have not seen any improvement in him, in fact we think he is worse. He also has diabetes but not on medication. Wants to sleep all day and will only get up when prompted, usually tea time when we go. Now having falls due to loss of sensation in his feet, it's a worry as he lives alone and refuses to have any care in except for us. What do we do. Contacting GP and CPN tomorrow for advice.

 

[Nebiroth]

There is no easy or simple answer to this question - because the drug produces widely varying results in different people.

However, the general rule is: the best you can get is a temporary and minor improvement. On average the improvement lasts around six months to a year.

Some people do better than this, some do not.

It is also sometimes hard to know whether the drug is working because there is no obvious change - however, it is possible that the decline would have been faster without it. Again, though, people decline at different rates, so perhaps that person would have declined slower than average anyway. A history of tests that maps the rate of decline before and after can help with tell but again, sometimes people start declining faster after a few years for reasons unknown.

So, in short: some people get a minor temporary improvement, some get no obvious benefit but are actually getting some in that they would be worse otherwise, whilst others actually get no benefit at all or may actually get worse.

Also, remember that these drugs do nothing at all to the underlying disease which continues unchecked and unchanged - the degenerative process inside the brain isn't changed but the drugs help with the symptoms that are caused by it. This is why the effect is temporary because the disease keeps getting worse and it's not possible to increase the drug to compensate because eventually it would have to be taken in doses large enough to be toxic. Also, the drugs only address one of the factors that lead to dementia symptoms in that they increase the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain - but it is known that dementia is much more complex than that and that there are multiple mechanisms at work.

There is a different class of drug called Memantine (Ebixa) that is sometimes given to people in the later stages of the illness. This drug is thought to exert a protective effect in the brain so it does seem to help in that way.

Sadly, the processes of dementia are still not well understood and this is why there are so few treatments and these are not particularly effective.

 

[PamD]

Mother (93) has been on Aricept about 10 years. I can't tell what she'd have been like without it. She has very poor short term memory, gets a bit panicky in the mornings ("Oh I can't think straight, what's happening to me?"), sometimes does an odd shouting thing in the mornings, but has not declined massively over that time. Still goes out to things like WI meetings, though can't remember a thing about it afterwards - goes to a day centre and comes home remembering the nice bus ride home but not a lot more. But everyone is different. A lady in our carer's group said her husband was on Aricept 8 years and very stable, then suddenly fell off the edge and got much worse over very short period. Who knows. Good luck. Pam