Dementia Medications

Types of Medications & How They Work

Medications have been developed that help manage the many side effects of dementia to make life easier for the sufferer.

• Rivastigmine (Exelon), donepezil (Aricept), and galantamine (Reminyl) – The Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are favoured for the treatment of mild to moderate symptoms. Donepezil is also used in advanced dementia. They function by halting the destruction of enzymes in the brain. The drugs help the nerve cells continue communicating with each other.

The medications have proven beneficial for sufferers of dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson’s disease, and vascular dementia.

Rivastigmine is often the preferred medication if the patient is experiencing hallucinations such as with Lewy Full Body Dementia.

• Memantine – Memantine (Namenda) is prescribed to moderate to severe forms of dementia. It is a good choice for patients who cannot tolerate acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. The drug stops the destruction of the brain by glutamate, and this prevents too much calcium from entering brain cells.
• Aducanumab (Aduhelm™) – An anti-amyloid antibody that is administered via intravenous infusion therapy. The drug is used for less severe forms of dementia. It is the first drug therapy that has shown promise at removing beta-amyloid from the brain which can slow cognitive decline.
• Lecanemab (Leqembi™) – is a drug considered an anti-amyloid antibody intravenous (IV) infusion that is used to treat the symptoms of early Alzheimer’s in patients who have been confirmed to have elevated beta-amyloid plaque in the brain.
• Orexin receptor antagonist (Belsomra®) – Dementia sufferers regularly suffer from insomnia and require drug treatment. Orexin receptor antagonist medications are a form of neurotransmitter that controls the sleep-wake cycle. Drugs such as Suvorexant (Belsomra®) are used to treat insomnia in sufferers of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The medication stops the brain’s use of orexin which is a neurotransmitter that controls the body’s sleep-wake cycle.