The safety profile of drug treatment of alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Despite the fact that Alzheimer's disease is being intensively studied for many years, its main etiopathogenic mechanisms are still unknown. At the same time, given the prognosis of the disease and its prevalence, the problem of adequate medical treatment is an important medical and social problem. The problem is compounded by the fact that in recent years there has been a tendency of expanding the concept of the disease. The aim of the study was to evaluate the safety profile of drug regimens used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease with the evidence of controlled clinical trials, completed in 2012, according to the database of the U.S.National Institute of Health and available Cochrane reviews and publications. The safety profile and tolerability of reversible anticholinesterase drugs, memantine, as well as alternative: ginkgo biloba, cerebrolysin, estrogen, idebenone, nicergoline, statins, and neurotrophines, has been evaluated. Analysis of the data has showed that the greatest limiting factor in the use of anticholinesterase drugs in the treatment is their direct dose-related side effects of dangerous dysfunction of the heart, nervous and respiratory systems, dyspepsia, which allows to use the recommended effective dose more than 3 months only in 50-58% of the patients with a minimum of efficiency. At the same time, the use of such drugs, as ginkgo biloba, based on standardized extract, improves cognitive function of the patients and has less side effects. There were also marked results of cerebrolysin, the dangers of using estrogen replacement therapy (vaginal bleeding in 16% of patients), the modest prospects of using idebenone, nicergoline and statins. The author comes to the conclusion that because of the low profile of safety and efficacy for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease anticholinesterase drugs and memantine, as well as the knowledge of the pathogenesis of the disease, the use of alternative schemes of drug therapy can be considered as being completely justified. There is a significant need to develop of new drugs with enhanced selectivity effects on the pathogenesis and specific symptoms of the disease. Key words : Alzheimer's disease, drug treatment, effectiveness of treatment, side effects of treatment.