Alzheimer’s disease does not currently have a treatment option. There are no cures for Alzheimer’s disease once symptoms like memory loss and difficulties with learning, judgment, communication, and everyday living appear.
However, many people may benefit by getting symptomatic relief from certain medications. They can make the disease progress more slowly and keep the brain functioning well for longer. It is ideal to refer to a doctor and determine the best action. Often, people suffering from Alzheimer’s are recommended medicines based on their symptoms.
What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
There is no cure or treatment for the brain condition Alzheimer’s disease. The illness profoundly impacts a person’s memory, thinking, learning, and organizational abilities, eventually affecting their capacity to perform everyday tasks. It is not an expected aspect of aging.
The symptoms aggravate with time. In fact, according to doctors, the illness process could last up to 10 years before Alzheimer’s disease symptoms start to show.
When memory issues become apparent, they are frequently classified as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). At this point, the brain adjusts to the effects of the disease, affecting intellectual function but leaving the ability to operate and live independently unaffected.
MCI may continue to progress in some persons at this point. However, dementia is most likely to progress in MCI patients. Some conditions may also bring on dementia, where daily functions like walking, sitting, and standing may be compromised.
Alzheimer’s disease patients who have advanced dementia are unable to communicate, recognize friends and relatives, or take care of themselves. Patients can choose to replace prescribed medicines with generic ones, and this saves cost.
What causes Alzheimer’s?
Protein accumulation that is out of the ordinary in the brain leads to Alzheimer’s disease. These proteins, amyloid and tau proteins, accumulate and cause cell death.
Over 100 billion nerve cells and other cells make up the human brain. The nerve cells carry out all the communications required to carry out tasks like thinking, learning, remembering, and planning. The accumulation of amyloid protein, which forms bigger aggregates known as plaques in the brain cells, is thought to occur. Tau tangles are made of twisted tau protein fibers. These plaques and tangles obstruct nerve cell communication, stopping nerve cells from performing their functions. The symptoms experienced by people with Alzheimer’s are caused by the slow and continuous death of the nerve cells, which begins in one area of the brain (often in the area of the brain that governs memory) before spreading to other places.
FDA-approved medicines for Alzheimer’s
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized pharmaceuticals that fall into two categories —
– Those that may slow the advancement of the disease in Alzheimer’s patient
– Those that may momentarily lessen some of the symptoms of the disease.
There may be various treatment options (pill, patch or other). It is crucial to consult a healthcare practitioner before deciding on any course of treatment to ascertain whether it is necessary. A doctor with experience using these drugs should monitor patients and strictly follow the suggested guidelines.
Drugs in this class may slow the illness’s advancement, benefiting Alzheimer’s patients’ cognition and function.
#1. Aducanumab (Aduhelm™)
Aducanumab is an FDA-approved drug that shows removing beta-amyloid. This is a protein whose aggregation, accumulation, and initiation is responsible for the development of Alzheimer’s Disease. Patients should discuss whether they are an ideal fit for a proposed treatment with a doctor before deciding on any action. Here, Aduhelm is a brand name with many alternatives in generics.
This chemical component in a medicine targets beta-amyloid, a tiny protein fragment that develops in the brain and builds into plaques. It is the key function of aducanumab. These plaques prevent nerve cells in the brain from communicating with one another and may also activate immune cells that cause inflammation and eat away at damaged nerve cells.
Amyloid plaques, one of the symptoms of the disease and one of its hallmarks, are one of the likely contributors, while scientists are unsure of what leads to death of cell and tissue loss along the course of Alzheimer’s. Aducanumab is the first treatment to show that eliminating amyloid, one of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, from the brain has a chance of slowing cognitive and functional deterioration in persons with early Alzheimer’s. In the market, you will find medication brand names and generic drugs for Alzheimer’s. There are plenty of common generic medications as well.
#2. NMDA antagonist
The FDA has approved memantine (Namenda®) for treating moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. Activating NMDA receptors can preserve the health of nerve cells. Generic drugs function differently from cholinesterase inhibitors. Memantine may be consumed on its own or with a cholinesterase inhibitor.
Memantine patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease outperformed placebo patients (A treatment-free control group in an experiment used as a benchmark to compare with treatment groups) in tests assessing daily activities like eating, walking, using the restroom, bathing, and dressing. Patients who function less well might gain the most by consuming this medicine.
Non-branded NMDA antagonist drugs are difficult to avail. Frequent consumption of such medicine may put the patient in a vicious cycle of buying expensive, branded medicines. Instead, you can walk into any Medkart shop and choose generic alternatives for Alzheimer’s. This empowers buyers to choose cost-effective medicines yet offer the same results.
#3. Cholinesterase inhibitors
All cholinesterase inhibitors have been authorized to treat the mild to moderate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Other cholinesterase inhibitors are —
●Rivastigmine (Exelon®) and Exelon patch
● Donepezil (Aricept®)
● Galantamine (Razadyne®)
These medications inhibit acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine. One of the substances that facilitates communication between nerve cells is acetylcholine. Some of the signs of Alzheimer’s disease are thought to be caused by low levels of acetylcholine, according to researchers.
These drugs boost the amount of acetylcholine in the brain by inhibiting the enzyme. This improvement in some memory issues and decrease in some behavioral symptoms that are seen in Alzheimer’s disease patients are thought to be the results of this increase.
These drugs don’t treat Alzheimer’s disease or stop it from getting worse. These medications frequently cause nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting as adverse effects. Some users may have hunger loss, sleep disorders, or disturbing dreams.
Managing behavioral changes
Some of the frequent behavioral signs of Alzheimer’s disease can be managed with medication. Antidepressant medications, for instance, can treat sadness, anxiety, restlessness, and violence. Agitation can be managed using anti-anxiety medications. Aggression is occasionally treated with anticonvulsants.
Hallucinations, agitation, and paranoia can all be treated with antipsychotic medications. Confusion and dizziness are some of these medications’ side effects, which might raise the risk of falling. Because of this, these medications are normally only used briefly when behavioral issues are severe and only when safer and other non-drug therapies have been exhausted.
Medkart creating difference for Alzheimer’s patients
At medkart.in, we offer a range of generic options for patients with Alzheimer’s. Visit our website, medkart.in to order generic medicines online in India. You can enter the name of your medicine, search for its generic substitutes, upload the prescription and get medicines delivered to you.
Our omnipresence on digital platforms enables you to order medicines for Alzheimer’s using Medkart’s Android application or Medkart’s iOS application.
Alternatively, you can walk into any of our 107 stores across India and share your prescription at the counter. Our in-store pharmacist will help you provide cost-effective alternatives for prescribed Alzheimer’s medications. Switching to generics for regular therapies can significantly bring down the treatment cost in the longer run.
