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by Yael Li-Ron
Current Alzheimer's drugs don't cure the disease, but some tend to slow down its progression and delay the dementia and the need to place a loved one in a nursing facility. The Institute for the Study of Aging is funding the first clinical trial to evaluate the use of cholesterol-lowering agents, known as statins, to treat patients with mild Alzheimer's (www.aging-institute.org). Recent tests have shown the Alzheimer's drug ARICEPT® to be more effective in treating advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease than was previously known, according to a published study. The drug seems to slow progression of symptoms such as impaired cognition and loss of function, and may be associated with a delay in nursing home placement. A recent study showed that persistent treatment with ARICEPT may be associated with a delay of close to two years in the first dementia-related nursing home placement for Alzheimer's patients. Persistent treatment was defined in this study as an effective dose of at least 5 mg a day for at least nine to 12 months. Call 888-999-9616, or point your browser to www.aricept.com for more information.
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Living a long life sounds like an attractive proposition, until you remember Alzheimer's disease. The statistics are staggering: 10 percent of 65-year-olds will develop it, as will 50 percent of those fortunate enough to reach 85. And as our life span increases, so do the odds of losing our minds, literally. An estimated 4 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease. For baby boomers, Alzheimer's is a double whammy: in middle age they have to act as caregivers for their ailing parents; then they face the possibility of developing the disease themselves.