Impact of Medications on Cognitive Function of Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Review for Practitioners

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative condition commonly accompanied by chronic comorbid medical conditions; therefore, it is not surprising that patients with Alzheimer's disease regularly take various prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Since most of them are older, they are at greatest risk because of the number of medications, the physiological changes of aging and pathological changes of dementias. As a result, there is a tremendous need for practitioners to pay more attention to neurocognitive effects of drugs in this population. If possible, practitioners should attempt to select drugs that have no or less neurocognitive effects for these patients. One of the strategies can be an active involvement of pharmacists in various clinical settings to meet the special needs of this special population. In this article, the authors reviewed documented cognitive effects of commonly used drugs in various clinical settings, which can adversely affect already decompensated cognitive function of patients with Alzheimer's disease.