Treatment of Alzheimer's disease with cholinergic drugs.

Several cholinergic drugs have been experimentally used to treat the cognitive and behavioral deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately the results have been somewhat disappointing. The cholinergic drugs are also prone to produce serious side effects. Experience with these drugs lead us to conclude that cholinergic drugs alone may not be the answer to treat Alzheimer disease patients. There seems to be a need to develop drug(s) which could affect several neurotransmitter or neuromodulator systems. Neuroendocrine changes induced by these drugs may be useful biological markers in estimating their central effects.