Anti-psychotic drugs raise risk of death in Alzheimer's patients' and
Studies show that anti psychotic medications can be harmful to Alzheimer's patients'
that a poorly written headline--
Alzheimer's drugs double death risk in elderly
might lead to the idea that drugs like Aricept and Namenda are anti-psychotic medications. Aricept is not an anti psychotic medication. Donepezil marketed under the trade name Aricept is a centrally acting reversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.I borrowed this directly from the official
Aricept website: HOW ARICEPT Is Thought to Work
When someone has Alzheimer's disease, nerve cells and vital chemicals in the brain are lost over time. This occurs in parts of the brain that are key to memory and other mental processes. One such chemical is called acetylcholine. This chemical helps carry messages from nerve cell to nerve cell in the brain. Alzheimer's may impair thinking and memory by disrupting these messages between cells.
It is thought that ARICEPT may help reduce the breakdown of acetylcholine, allowing more of this important chemical to remain in the brain.
If you are interested you can read more about cholinesterase inhibitors here.
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