Do the new Alzheimer's drugs really work?

Apparently not, according to some recent Italian studies.

Three drugs, Aricept, Exelon, and Reminyl are being prescribed to patients who are in the  mild to moderate stages of Alzheimer's.

But these drugs  are also being prescribed for people who have pre-dementia.  Such prescriptions are referred to as "off-label".

Off-label means the drugs are being prescribed for uses other than what they have been officially approved for.

What the Italian researchers found in six clinical trials was that these drugs did little to nothing for relieving the progression of the pre-dementia stages.

In other words,there is still a lot of debate about what is really going on. Or not going on.

But here's another important point. Every drug your aging parents take can have side effects.  Some of those effects could possibly be dangerous.

All drugs should be taken with caution and full knowledge of what they do and what the consequences of taking them can be.

Still, some of these drugs are strongly advertised  on television.

Of course, that brings up another one of my pet peeves about the Madison Avenue approach to the selling of prescription drugs.

I won't get into that debate here today. Maybe later.

Always ask yourself if the expense of taking such "off-label" drugs is really worth the price?

Read Alzheimer's Drugs May Not Delay Dementia 

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