A guideline for the treatment of dementia in Japan.

Worldwide energetic efforts have provided several clues for the management of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in elderly people, although the history of dementia treatment is not long. Various pharmacological or non-pharmacological treatments are carried out in daily medical practice, but evidence for the validity of these treatments is limited. In United States and Europe, several pharmacological and a few non-pharmacological treatments have been proven effective and a few drugs are approved by various governments and used in practice. In contrast, only one acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil has been proven effective and used for patients with mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease in Japan. Anti-hypertensive or anti-platelet therapy has been shown to reduce the incidence or recurrence of stroke, probably preventing vascular dementia. Effectiveness of drugs and types of care awaits to be validated in the light of scientific procedures.