Can Alzheimer’s drugs help slow cognitive decline?

• There is currently no cure for dementia with Lewy bodies, which is the 2nd most common type of dementia.
• Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet have found that Alzheimer’s disease medications called cholinesterase inhibitors may help slow down cognitive decline in people with dementia with Lewy bodies over five years.
• Scientists also report that the use of cholinesterase inhibitors was linked with a reduced mortality risk in the first year after a Lewy body dementia diagnosis.

Dementia with Lewy bodies is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, comprising between 15-20% of all dementia diagnoses.

Also known as Lewy body dementia, it is caused by clumps of protein in the brain called Lewy bodies. People with dementia with Lewy bodies share many of the same symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, including cognitive issues such as memory loss, problem-solving, and speech problems, and movement concerns including lack of coordination, frequent falls, and tremors.

There is currently no cure for dementia with Lewy bodies. Medications and therapies such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, and psychological therapy can help treat disease symptoms.

Now, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found that Alzheimer’s disease medications called cholinesterase inhibitors may help slow down cognitive decline in people with dementia with Lewy bodies over five years.

In this new study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, scientists also reported that the use of cholinesterase inhibitors was linked with a reduced mortality risk in the first year after a Lewy body dementia diagnosis.