In early dementia the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include memory loss, disorientation and confusion. These symptoms are caused by the loss of neurons and worsen with continuous neurodegeneration. The pathology of dementia is not solely the result of a cholinergic deficit. It is known that, chronically and pathologically elevated glutamate concentrations play an important role.
A causal therapy is not yet available. Two classes of drugs to treat the typical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are currently available.
The first generation of anti-Alzheimer’s medications available were the Cholinesterase Inhibitors. An innovative type of drug is memantine being an NMDA receptor antagonist. Please find more detailed information via the following links: