Combined therapy for Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of cognitive impairment and dementia. A non-systematic review of literature is presented, which discusses the clinical features and current criteria for diagnosis of this disease. The review presents classifications of cognitive impairments, including severity, as well as diagnostic criteria for various stages of dementia. The main approaches to the management of patients with dementia in AD as the disease progresses are highlighted. Modern publications dedicated to the problem of combined therapy of dementia in AD with donepezil and memantine are considered. The fixed combination of these drugs in a single tablet once daily regimen has been shown to provide significant benefits over acetylcholinesterase inhibitor monotherapy, especially in patients with dysphagia, poor adherence to treatment and limited interaction with caregivers.