More on Dementia and the Drugs to Treat It

I discovered that Dr. Bill Thomas (father of the Eden Alternative and Green House projects in long-term care) has a blog titled “Changing Aging.” The URL is this:
http://www.umbc.edu/blogs/changingaging/

In a post of January 15, titled “No Miracle Pill,” Dr. Thomas refers to 6 clinical studies examined by Italian researchers on the use of commonly prescribed drugs for mid-to-moderate Alzheimer’s. Aricept is the most common of those named. They found “that in none of six clinical trials they examined did using the drugs significantly reduce the rate of progression from MCI (mild cognitive impairment) to dementia.”

I have heard other respected geriatricians state this same result from their own professional reading and experience. In one case, the geriatrician told those of us in the audience, “I tell a family member, ‘if your mom enjoys eating at “Uncle Julio’s Fine Mexican Restaurant”, your money would be better spent giving her that simple pleasure once every few weeks.” He went on to say that the improvements in memory from using these drugs are “clinical” in nature. After a few months on the drug(s), a person with dementia might be able to remember a series of five words from a list of ten, over four words that s/he was able to remember before beginning to take the drug.

Dr. Thomas ends his short post with this: “The problem is that, outside of a small number of exceptional circumstances, the drugs listed above are largely ineffective and expose patients to substantial and sometimes dangerous side effects.” (Emphasis mine)

The original, short and easy-to-read article that Dr. Thomas refers to can be accessed here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21990057/