Are We Close to an Alzheimer's Cure?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAlzheimer’s DiseaseHow Is Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosed?Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment OptionsIs There a Cure?Frequently Asked Questions

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Table of Contents

Alzheimer’s Disease

How Is Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosed?

Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment Options

Is There a Cure?

Frequently Asked Questions

Close

Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder that causes dementia and severe cognitive decline, including memory, language, and thinking problems. In America today, it affects up to 7 million people, mainly over the age of 60.More rarely, some people in their mid 40s, and even more rare in their 20s and 30s, could also develop a form of the disease known asearly-onset Alzheimer’s.

There is currently no cure for this condition. Treatment focuses on delaying the progress of the disease, reducing the severity of symptoms, and helping people live functioning lives. However, scientists and researchers worldwide continue to work tirelessly to find a cure.

This article covers what Alzheimer’s disease is and whether it can be cured.

Alzheimer’s disease is aneurological conditionthat affects a person’s memory, how they think and behave, and even their abilities to carry out simple everyday tasks.

It’s a progressive disease which means that it worsens over time.

Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease

Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease

Signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s diseasevary from person to person. They also tend to evolve as the disease progresses. To understand the symptoms of AD, you can examine how it affects a person more progressively at each stage.

Mild Alzheimer’s Disease

Some of the most common symptoms you’ll notice in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease include:

Moderate and Severe Alzheimer’s Disease

Common signs of Alzheimer’s in its moderate to late stages include:

Jacob Donoghue, MD, PhD, co-founder of Beacon Biosignals, a neurotechnology company researching precision medicine for brain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.Alzheimer’s is a common and insidious disease that devastates patients and their families in slow motion.

Jacob Donoghue, MD, PhD, co-founder of Beacon Biosignals, a neurotechnology company researching precision medicine for brain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s is a common and insidious disease that devastates patients and their families in slow motion.

There’s no gold standard for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease; however, there are a variety of diagnostic tools to assist with getting an accurate diagnosis.

Your healthcare providers will ask you to describe your medical history and current symptoms and sometimes invite your close friends and family to give their insight into your symptoms.

Your doctor will order blood work, urine, and other tests to look for any abnormalities. You will likely be referred to a neurologist if dementia is suspected, and they will run a series of evaluations and tests on your cognitive functioning and order brain imaging tests such as MRIs or CT scans.

They’ll also attempt to eliminate any othermental healthor medical condition that could be responsible for your symptoms.

Treatment for Alzheimer’s diseasefocuses on reducing the severity of your symptoms, delaying the progression of the disease process, and improving daily functioning.

Scientists have discovered effective medical interventions for symptoms such as cognitive decline, aggression, depression, and perceptual disturbances, including hallucinations and parnoid thinking. When prescribing medication, your doctor is likely to start you off on a low dosage and gradually increase your dosage depending on how well you are tolerating the drug.

With most Alzheimer’s disease medications, the higher the dosage, the more likely you are to experience bothersome side effects.

Treatment for Symptom Management

Cholinesterase Inhibitors

Cholinesteraseinhibitorssuch as Aricept (donepezil), Exelon (rivastigmine), and Razadyne (galantamine) are typically prescribed to treat symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in the early stages.

These drugs are believed to prevent the breakdown of a chemical messenger in the brain called acetylcholine. This, in turn, is thought to help slow cognitive decline.

Common side effects you might experience when using cholinesterase inhibitors include nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, weight loss, and fatigue.

NMDA Receptor Antagonists

Memantineis the only NMDA receptor antagonist prescribed for treating symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. It is typically prescribed for people who have moderate or severe forms of Alzheimer’s disease. It can be prescribed with cholinesterase inhibitors to treat these cases effectively.

Typical side effects you might experience when using memantine include diarrhea, confusion, headaches, nausea, and vomiting.

Treatment to Delay Disease Progression

Aduhelm

Aduhelm (aducanumab) was the first medication with the potential to prevent Alzheimer’s or slow down the progression of the disease. Initial studies on its effectiveness were only done on people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease or mild symptoms. Results from those studies came back with mixed results.

Aduhelm UpdateThe FDA approved Aduhelm in June 2021 under their accelerated approval program.This means that full approval of the drug was contingent upon the drug proving to be effective in slowing down the progression of cognitive decline and dementia in further trials. Due to disappointing results in the drug meeting its goals, it was discontinued in early 2024.

Aduhelm Update

The FDA approved Aduhelm in June 2021 under their accelerated approval program.This means that full approval of the drug was contingent upon the drug proving to be effective in slowing down the progression of cognitive decline and dementia in further trials. Due to disappointing results in the drug meeting its goals, it was discontinued in early 2024.

Lecanamab and Donanemab

Fortunately, the clinical trials forlecanamab(Leqembi)anddonanemab(Kisunla) showed a significant reduction in the rate of cognitive decline when taking either of these IV infusion drugs, and the results were consistent across trials. These drugs gained full FDA approval in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Other Treatments to Improve Overall Functioning

Some of these treatments include:

Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s; though, the FDA has recently approved two immunotherapy drugs for delaying the progression of Alzheimer’s disease,lecanamab(Leqembi)anddonanemab(Kisunla). These are groundbreaking medications with impressive outcomes that give hope to those who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

If these new medications are not effective for you or your loved one, remember that new treatment methods are always being studied in clinical trials.

What Will the Future of Mental Health Care Bring?

Frequently Asked QuestionsMaintaining healthy habits is an excellent place to start when managing Alzheimer’s disease in your daily life. Eating healthily, exercising regularly, and cutting out bad habits such as smoking and drinking excessively have been proven to reduce the severity of Alzheimer’s symptoms.Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive condition, which means its symptoms worsen over time. Some research shows that people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease typically live an average of eight years after diagnosis.However, with early diagnosis and effective treatment, you could live much longer after you’ve been diagnosed.

Maintaining healthy habits is an excellent place to start when managing Alzheimer’s disease in your daily life. Eating healthily, exercising regularly, and cutting out bad habits such as smoking and drinking excessively have been proven to reduce the severity of Alzheimer’s symptoms.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive condition, which means its symptoms worsen over time. Some research shows that people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease typically live an average of eight years after diagnosis.However, with early diagnosis and effective treatment, you could live much longer after you’ve been diagnosed.

11 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Alzheimer’s.National Institute on Aging.What causes Alzheimer’s disease?Stanford Medicine.Alzheimer’s disease.National Institute on Aging.What are the signs of Alzheimer’s disease?National Institute on Aging.How is Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed?Robinson DM, Keating GM.Memantine: a review of its use in Alzheimer’s disease.Drugs. 2006;66(11):1515-1534.U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA grants accelerated approval for Alzheimer’s disease.U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA converts novel Alzheimer’s disease treatment to traditional approval.U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves treatment for adults with Alzheimer’s disease.Livingston MG, Livingston HM.New antidepressants for old people?BMJ. 1999;318(7199):1640-1641. doi:10.1136%2Fbmj.318.7199.1640John Hopkins Medicine.Stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

11 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Alzheimer’s.National Institute on Aging.What causes Alzheimer’s disease?Stanford Medicine.Alzheimer’s disease.National Institute on Aging.What are the signs of Alzheimer’s disease?National Institute on Aging.How is Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed?Robinson DM, Keating GM.Memantine: a review of its use in Alzheimer’s disease.Drugs. 2006;66(11):1515-1534.U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA grants accelerated approval for Alzheimer’s disease.U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA converts novel Alzheimer’s disease treatment to traditional approval.U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves treatment for adults with Alzheimer’s disease.Livingston MG, Livingston HM.New antidepressants for old people?BMJ. 1999;318(7199):1640-1641. doi:10.1136%2Fbmj.318.7199.1640John Hopkins Medicine.Stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Alzheimer’s.National Institute on Aging.What causes Alzheimer’s disease?Stanford Medicine.Alzheimer’s disease.National Institute on Aging.What are the signs of Alzheimer’s disease?National Institute on Aging.How is Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed?Robinson DM, Keating GM.Memantine: a review of its use in Alzheimer’s disease.Drugs. 2006;66(11):1515-1534.U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA grants accelerated approval for Alzheimer’s disease.U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA converts novel Alzheimer’s disease treatment to traditional approval.U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves treatment for adults with Alzheimer’s disease.Livingston MG, Livingston HM.New antidepressants for old people?BMJ. 1999;318(7199):1640-1641. doi:10.1136%2Fbmj.318.7199.1640John Hopkins Medicine.Stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Alzheimer’s.

National Institute on Aging.What causes Alzheimer’s disease?

Stanford Medicine.Alzheimer’s disease.

National Institute on Aging.What are the signs of Alzheimer’s disease?

National Institute on Aging.How is Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed?

Robinson DM, Keating GM.Memantine: a review of its use in Alzheimer’s disease.Drugs. 2006;66(11):1515-1534.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA grants accelerated approval for Alzheimer’s disease.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA converts novel Alzheimer’s disease treatment to traditional approval.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves treatment for adults with Alzheimer’s disease.

Livingston MG, Livingston HM.New antidepressants for old people?BMJ. 1999;318(7199):1640-1641. doi:10.1136%2Fbmj.318.7199.1640

John Hopkins Medicine.Stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

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