The spouse of a patient who is newly diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease asks the nurse if medications will prevent the need for nursing home care. Which response by the nurse is correct?
a. "Drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease may slow the progression of memory loss."
b. "Drugs may be effective to stop the pro-gression of the disease if they are initiated early in the disease."
c. "Medications to treat Alzheimer's disease are effective for treating core symptoms of the disease."
d. "Medications for Alzheimer's disease are effective in reducing cognitive impair-ment."
A
Alzheimer's disease is a disease in which symptoms progress relentlessly from mild to moderate to severe. Medications have not been clearly effective and do not stop the disease progression, although they may slow loss of memory and cognition and prolong independent function. There is no indication that available drugs stop disease progression if begun early in the course of the disease. There is no clearly effective therapy for core symptoms, but associated symptoms such as incontinence and depression may be treated.
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