Donepezil: A good first step in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

As the average lifespan grows increasingly longer, the incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and similar dementias may be expected to increase by as much as three-fold over the next 40 years. The first pharmcotherapeutic agent approved for use in treating AD, tacrine, is associated with liver toxicity and gastrointestinal side effects as well as compliance problems due to q.i.d. Donepezil (Aricept®), the only cholinesterase inhibitor that has …