Available Alzheimer Meds Can Delay Nursing Home Admission

Although they have been available for years, both doctors and patients alike have been somewhat dismissive of the cholinesterase inhibitor drugs, such as Aricept® and Exelon®.  Their effects are not dramatic, and can best be shown by the slowing of deterioration in scores on a scale like the Mini-Mental State Exam, which are pretty hard to interpret in day-to-day life.  However, a study from Liverpool University, UK, that’s published in The Psychiatrist, suggests they can delay nursing home placement of dementia patients.  

The patients came from a clinic that provided psychiatric services for the elderly.  There were 127 subject who took cholinesterase inhibitors, and 212 who did not;  65% were women, 35% men, and their average age was 62.  The most commonly used drug was Aricept (donepezil), then Razadyne® (galantamine), and Exelon (rivastigmine).  About 90% of the subjects had a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer’s disease or dementia combined with Alzheimer’s.

During the first 30 months of follow-up there was a delay in nursing home placement by an average of 12 months in those who took cholinesterase inhibitors compared with those who did not. However, by 40 months, the probability of being placed in a nursing home was similar for both groups. 

This study suggests that the use of cholinesterase inhibitors is associated with a delay in the need for nursing home placement during in the first 2½ years of treatment.  This was an observational study, so one cannot conclude that there’s a cause-and-effect relationship between taking these meds and a delay in disease development. However, the findings certainly lend support for their use in helping control symptoms.