A nurse administers medications to four patients with Alzheimer's disease. Which medication would be expected to antagonize N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) channels rather than cholinesterase?
a. donepezil (Aricept)
b. rivastigmine (Exelon)
c. memantine (Namenda)
d. galantamine (Razadyne)
ANS: C
Memantine blocks the NMDA channels and is used in moderate-to-late stages of the disease. Donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine are all cholinesterase inhibitors. These drugs increase the availability of acetylcholine and are most often used to treat mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.
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