Alzheimer's FDA Approved Drugs & Alternatives: What are They Really Treating?

A 2018 study by Tricco et al, ranking the safety and effectiveness of the four leading drugs now taken to enhance concentration, memory, alertness and moods in, found that donepezil (Aricept®) was most likely to effectively improve cognition in patients with Alzheimer's dementia. However, patients who took donepezil were more likely to experience side effects including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea than those who received a placebo, according to the study, published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.¹ And an earlier study showed that almost 19% of patients in an Aricept 23 mg daily group discontinued treatment due to side effects.² The fact is that as for all conventional drugs used in Alzheimer’s treatment –only a small percentage of AD victims are helped by them. Yet, in both the case of FDA approved and alternative treatments presently available, much can be gleaned by scrutinizing which pathogen or pathogens the bulk of their activity is directed towards. It seems that several compounds said to have effects upon the neuronal systems in Alzheimer's may also exert influence through other mechanisms, such as antimicrobial actions.