Use of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is a growing problem in an aging Western world, estimated to have cost the US economy USD 1.75 trillion. Until recently, the management of Alzheimer's disease largely comprised support for the family, nursing care and the use of unlicensed medication to control behavioral disturbances. The three new acetylcholinesterase inhibitors licensed to treat Alzheimer's disease (donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine) have provided clinicians with a major impetus to their desire to diagnose and treat this lethal disease. Their effects on cognition are proven. More recent work on the effects of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors on behavioral symptoms, activities of daily living and caregiver burden have also been encouraging. Emerging work indicates their likely efficacy in other dementias (e.g., vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies). This review summarizes the evidence concerning the impact of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in dementia both currently and over the next 5 years.