Treating Alzheimer with a skin patch

“Exelon Patch”, developed by Novartis is the first skin patch to treat patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease. The new therapy that has already been approved by the FDA, is said to be more compliant for it causes less incidents of nausea and vomiting.

Photo: Treating Alzheimer with a skin patch
The FDA also approved the Exelon Patch for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Parkinson´s disease dementia, a common disorder that affects about 20 % of Parkinson patients.
 
Exelon Patch is a transdermal patch which can be applied to the back, the chest or the upper arm of the patient and supplies the organism with a steady bloodstream level of the drug rivastigmine for 24 hours. This method extends the drug´s tolerability and its effectiveness over a wider range of patients, e.g. those who are not able to take the oral capsule version because of the increased prevalence of gastrointestinal side effects: Due to a study the patch version resulted in three times fewer incidents of nausea and vomiting compared to the oral capsule.
 
The new product should be available in US pharmacies soon. It was also submitted for approval in the European Union.
 
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10.07.2007

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