• Namenda Works Differently: Here's How
• Effective Treatment Saves Time and Money
• Starting Namenda Is Easy
• When to Ask About Namenda Therapy

Namenda targets a different pathway in the brain that is affected by Alzheimer's disease - which makes it different from other Alzheimer's disease medications. This unique approach can help the person you care for achieve a more meaningful quality of life.

Until Namenda, there was no approved medication available to slow the symptoms of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. Today, more than 2 million people with Alzheimer's disease worldwide have experienced the quality of life difference Namenda can make.

In clinical studies of patients with moderate or severe Alzheimer's disease, those who took Namenda showed a slower decline in mental function compared with those who took a sugar pill. Namenda was found to be safe and well tolerated. In other clinical studies, some patients with moderate or severe Alzheimer's disease, treated with Namenda for up to 6 months, were able to maintain their current activity level, or showed a small improvement, compared with those taking a sugar pill.

Although there is still no cure for the person with Alzheimer's disease, there is reason to hope. Treatment with Namenda may help to maintain memory, behavior, and the ability to do everyday tasks - both independently and with others - for a longer time.

Namenda is also the first Alzheimer's disease therapy shown to provide increased benefits when combined with Aricept^® (donepezil).

Namenda Works Differently: Here's How

Namenda works in an entirely different way from the other Alzheimer's disease medications:

People with Alzheimer's disease are believed to have problems processing a chemical in the brain called glutamate. This problem may cause nerve cells in the brain that use glutamate to work less efficiently.

As an effective treatment for the symptoms of moderate and severe Alzheimer's disease, Namenda is believed to work by helping to ensure that the right amount of glutamate is available. This helps create the chemical environment needed for the brain to process, store, and retrieve information that results in learning and memory.

It's important to remember that no medication, including Namenda, can stop the changes in the brain that result in memory loss as well as changes in behavior, mood, and personality. In addition, response to any Alzheimer's disease treatment will take time. Not everyone will have the same result or respond in the same amount of time. Talk with the doctor or other healthcare professional before stopping Namenda treatment.

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Effective Treatment Saves Time and Money

Clinical studies have shown that effective treatment of people with Alzheimer's disease is cost-saving at any stage of the disease.

As you might expect, a large portion of the costs of Alzheimer's disease are for care in hospitals, nursing homes, emergency rooms, long-term-care facilities, and doctors' offices as well as for care in the home. But you should know that effective treatment also reduces "costs" to people like you, caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's disease at home.

What does "costs" mean for you? Economists call them "indirect" costs, but they are very real to the people "paying" them - for example, lost productivity at work, absenteeism, depression, and doctors' visits for problems related to Alzheimer's disease care, such as stress and fatigue.

In patients with mild symptoms, the "savings" are likely to be small. But with patients living at home who have moderate to severe symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, treatment that slows their mental decline can make caring for them more efficient and less "costly" over time.

Namenda is such a treatment. In one study, therapy with Namenda reduced at-home care of patients with Alzheimer's disease by an average of almost 52 hours per month, or 103 minutes per day, compared with time spent caring for patients in the study who did not receive Namenda.

Could treating your loved one with Namenda help you extend the time you have to be together? Ask your doctor.

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Starting Namenda Is Easy

A convenient, easy-to-use Namenda starter pack is available for the first 4 weeks of treatment. Namenda can be taken with or without food. The doctor will have a schedule for the recommended daily dose and number of doses per day for the 4-week starting period. (Click here for tips on making sure the person you're caring for takes his or her medication as the doctor has directed.)

Side effects. Like all medications, Namenda can cause side effects. However, Namenda (and Namenda in combination with another Alzheimer's disease treatment) is well tolerated by most people. In fact, in clinical studies, its side effects were generally similar to those experienced when taking a sugar pill. They may include dizziness, headache, constipation, and confusion (which can occur whether a person is taking Namenda alone or in combination with another Alzheimer's disease treatment). The doctor may change the dose if confusion occurs.

People taking Namenda have also had a low rate of gastrointestinal (GI) side effects such as constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, or nausea. What's more, Namenda can be safely taken with most other medications - an important benefit, since most people with Alzheimer's disease are elderly and likely to be taking a number of medicines.

If side effects occur and continue, the doctor or other healthcare professional should be consulted before stopping treatment with Namenda.

Before starting Namenda, as with any medication, it is important to make sure the doctor or other healthcare professional knows about all other prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, herbal remedies, and diet supplements the patient is using.

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When to Ask About Namenda Therapy

The goal of treatment with Namenda (as with all Alzheimer's disease treatments) is to slow the progressive symptoms and rate of decline the disease causes.

Aggressive diagnosis and treatment are the key to helping this happen. Starting effective treatment can help slow the progression of symptoms that is inevitable with this disease.

Don't delay if you think you've been seeing symptoms of moderate or severe Alzheimer's disease in the person you are concerned about. Talk to the doctor or an Alzheimer's disease specialist, like a neurologist, as soon as possible.

Be sure to bring the Results page of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment along when you visit the doctor. The information it contains will help the doctor understand even more about the condition and treatment needs of the person in your life with Alzheimer's disease.

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