Who might benefit from Aricept?
Aricept is licensed only for people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, and not for people with other kinds of dementia. However, people who have a less common form of dementia called Lewy body dementia may also benefit. Recent evidence suggests that Aricept may also be able to help people with severe Alzheimer’s disease and people with vascular dementia. It is important to realise that, unfortunately, Aricept will not help everyone who tries it. Aricept is not claimed to be a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. It only treats the symptoms and there is no evidence that it could halt or reverse the process of cell damage that causes Alzheimer’s disease. What effect might it have? The effect of the drug will vary for different people. Some will not notice an effect at all. Others may find that their condition improves, or that they stay the same when they would have been expected to get gradually less able because of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. SIGN guideline The Scottish In
