Answers Tatyana Donskikh, head of the clinical diagnostic department, including a day hospital, neurologist of the Federal Center for Medical Sciences of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia:

Despite all the efforts of modern medicine, no remedy has yet been found that can cure dementia. But it is possible to slow down the development of the disease! And these chances must be used.

Modern treatment is carried out mainly in two directions:

1. Drug therapy.

2. Optimal care that supports mental initiative and a sense of security.

The drugs available to people with dementia today can be divided into three groups:

This group includes a drug used to treat dementia of all severity. Since the binding sites of glutamate are present only in the brain and spinal cord, the agent is well tolerated and has practically no contraindications for administration. This is very important for elderly patients who often have many concomitant diseases.

This group of drugs includes a number of drugs. They prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine already formed in the brain. They are prescribed for mild to moderate severity of the disease. Since acetylcholine is often found outside the brain, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors can cause a number of side effects.

Treatment is carried out for a long time, first as monotherapy, then in combination.

Non-drug approaches to treatment are important, in particular, psychological support for patients and their relatives, neuropsychological training, music therapy, phototherapy, art therapy, aromatherapy and other methods of additional sensory stimulation, therapeutic gymnastics, etc.

Since the prevalence of Alzheimers disease is expected to grow rapidly in the world and the existing therapeutic approaches are rather modest, the search for new forms of action and methods of treatment continues constantly. There are many of these directions. These include, for example, the development of new neuroprotective drugs, neuroreparation technologies using stem cells. Particular hopes were pinned on immunological approaches associated with the use of amyloid vaccines and immunoglobulins in attempts to remove -amyloid from the brain. Unfortunately, clinical trials of amyloid vaccines have shown an unacceptably high risk of developing encephalitis or leukoencephalopathy.

The maximum benefit from any effective remedy is possible only when applied at an early, pre-demented stage of the pathological process. Therefore, it is so important to develop approaches to the earliest possible diagnosis of Alzheimers disease.

There are contraindications, you need to consult a doctor

Read more from the original source:
What treatments can prolong the life of someone with Alzheimer's? - Pledge Times