[Cholinergic therapy of Alzheimer's disease and its effect on health and quality of life of caregivers to the patients].
To assess efficacy and safety of 4-month therapy with rivastigmine in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to evaluate the burden of caregivers to these patients, 25 AD patients have been studied. Rivastigmine was prescribed internally and 22 patients were assigned to additional antipsychotic therapy at the admission to the hospital. The treatment duration was 16 weeks (12 weeks in the hospital and 4 weeks after the discharge). The study revealed that rivastigmine improved cognitive functions and led to the reduction of psychotic and behavioral disorders in AD patients at the moderate stage of the disease. The inclusion of rivastigmine in the complex treatment of AD patients resulted in the significant reduction in doses of necessary psychotropic drugs and in the complete withdrawal of all antipsychotic drugs in some patients. It should be specifically emphasized that the treatment with rivastigmine of patients with moderate AD and behavioral disorders led to the significant (up to 30%) reduction of the time spent for caregiving, the decrease of burden and the health improvement of caregivers that increase quality of life of both the patient and the family.
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000451:nursing; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017028:Caregivers; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D048448:Phenylcarbamates / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011788:Quality of Life; D000068836:Rivastigmine / Q000627:therapeutic use
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D048448:Phenylcarbamates; D000068836:Rivastigmine