Cholinesterase inhibitors in Alzheimer’s disease

• Autor(a) principal: Pereira, Kellen Klein
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Rodrigues, Valeska Marinho
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Debates em Psiquiatria (Online)
• DOI: 10.25118/2236-918X-5-3-3
• Texto Completo: https://revistardp.org.br/revista/article/view/911
• topic: Doença de Alzheimer; tratamento; anticolinesterásicos; Alzheimer’s disease; treatment; cholinesterase inhibitors

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, characterized by an insidious onset and a progressive course, with cognitive decline, impairment of autonomy and of the ability to perform activities of daily living, mood swings and changes in behavior. Throughout the course of the disease, clinical manifestations of various kindscan be observed: cognitive manifestations, e.g., memory loss, impaired language, visual-spatial, and constructional skills, and executive function, among others; behavioral problems, e.g., depression, anxiety, violent/agitated behavior; insomnia; impaired ability to perform activities of daily living; impacton independence and quality of life of patients and their caregivers. At present, AD treatment is based on the use of cholinesterase inhibitors, with the aim to stabilize or slow the course of the disease. The available evidence suggests an average improvement of -2.7 points (95% confidence interval: -3.0 to -2.3) in the range of 70 points on the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-cog) for 6 months to 1 year in patients with mild, moderate, and severe dementia, as well as a better control of associated behavioral symptoms. This article reviews recent data on the use of cholinesterase inhibitors in AD, the moment of their introduction, treatment duration, and primary effectiveness markers.