Namenda (memantine) works for mild Alzheimer’s disease.

Namenda is widely used off-label for mild disease...but there’s no evidence it helps. And even for moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease, its efficacy is meager at best.

The cholinesterase inhibitors (Aricept, etc) can help patients with mild Alzheimer’s...but don’t expect them to make a huge difference, either.

Explain to patients and caregivers that none of the current Alzheimer’s meds provide huge improvements...usually, at best, they just set the cognitive function clock back a bit. For example, with therapy a patient may function like they did 6 months ago, but in a few months they’re back to the same spot as when they started therapy...cognitive decline is still occurring.