Strategies for continued successful treatment of Alzheimer's disease: switching cholinesterase inhibitors

Abstract

Cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitors represent the standard therapeutic approach to the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, a proportion of patients experience lack or loss of therapeutic benefit with an initial agent, or discontinue due to safety/tolerability issues. In many instances, no alternative treatment is offered once the initial agent has been stopped. Thus, for many patients, the total duration of treatment is relatively short in comparison with the chronic nature of AD.