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| |  DG DISPATCH - ANA: Rivastigmine Helps Maintain Daily Functioning In Alzheimer’s Patients By Edward Susman Special to DG News SEATTLE, WA -- October 15, 1999 -- A new study has found that the drug rivastigmine is effective in helping Alzheimer’s disease patients to maintain activities of daily living, researchers said at the 124th annual meeting of the American Neurological Association meeting in Seattle, WA.
"Treatment with rivastigmine can enhance and sustain the ability to perform activities of daily life," said Dr. George Grossberg, professor of psychiatry at St. Louis University School of Medicine, in St. Louis MO. In general, patients taking rivastigmine in this 26-week study were more likely to show improvement in activities of daily living than patients taking placebo medication, and fewer patients on rivastigmine showed a decline in function compared with those taking placebo, Grossberg reported in his poster presentation. Among 36 percent of the patients on rivastigmine, there was a minimum of 10 percent improvement in the amount of time spent doing hobbies or being engaged in recreational pursuits. About 24 percent of patients on a placebo medication showed at least a 10 percent increase in this aspect of daily life. On the other hand, 47 percent of patients on rivastigmine showed a decrease in time spent on hobbies compared with 60 percent of those on placebo. Grossberg reported on studies involving more than 2,000 patients - 1479 on rivastigmine and 647 on placebo. "Contrary to the current assumption," Grossberg said, "patients with moderate to moderately severe Alzheimer’s disease retain the capacity to respond to cholinergic therapy."
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