March 7, 2001 – In a few months, studies and reviews of studies suddenly multiplied on galantamine, a substance capable of slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Derived from the snowdrop bulb (Galanthus nivalis), galantamine has been the subject of more than twenty studies related to Alzheimer’s disease since the early 1990s, when it was clearly identified its ability to inhibit acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme present at the level of synapses connecting brain cells and involved in Alzheimer’s disease.
It is also known that galantamine modulates nicotinic receptors in brain cells, which explains its positive effect on the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
According to the various studies, treatment with galantamine produces the best results in people with mild to moderate illness and should be started fairly early in the disease process.
Already accepted for the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in several countries, the galantamine marketed under the name Reminyl by the company Johnson & Johnson has just been authorized in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration. Galantamine is not yet authorized in Canada and France.
HealthPassport.net
Coyle J, Kershaw P. Galantamine, a cholinesterase inhibitor that allosterically modulates nicotinic receptors: effects on the course of Alzheimer’s disease.Biol Psychiatry. 2001 Feb 1; 49 (3): 289-299.
Scott LJ, Goa KL. Galantamine: a review of its use in Alzheimer’s disease.Drugs. 2000 Nov; 60 (5): 1095-122. Review.
