WASHINGTON, D.C.: An Alzheimer’s drug that is often withdrawn in later stages of the disease can halve the risk of severely ill patients being moved into nursing homes, research has shown.
Aricept, the brand name of the drug donepezil, is frequently used to reduce to manage symptoms in cases of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. However, it is typically not given to people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease because of a perceived lack of benefit.
A new study may force a re-think of the policy of not giving the worst affected patients access to the drug.
The Domino trial showed that withdrawing Aricept doubled the chances of an Alzheimer’s patient being moved into a nursing home after a year.