A new medication patch may prove more effective and easier to use than traditional capsules
Medication can help the memory but in order for that to happen the patient has to remember to take the medicine. It's the catch 22 of Alzheimer's disease. But there is new help for this problem.
The first skin patch for treatment of Alzheimer's is now available in Canada and destined to make treatment easier and improve outcomes. The Exelon patch is applied once a day to the chest, back or upper arms and delivers the medication continuously over a 24-hour period, allowing patients to maintain an optimal therapeutic dose over a longer period of time.
Caregivers and patients can easily see that the patch is in place, eliminating concerns about whether the medication has been taken and reassuring them that the proper dose is being delivered. As well, because the patch optimizes the way the medication is distributed there are three times less reported side effects, compared with capsule formulations. Since the pills can cause uncomfortable effects such as nausea and vomiting, an estimated 50 per cent of patients will stop the treatment after only six months.
About 450,000 Canadians suffer from Alzheimer's or a related disease and close to 100,000 will develop it in 2008.
