Skin patch offers easier way to treat Alzheimer's disease

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Alzheimer's patients may soon get the first skin patch to treat the creeping brain degeneration, a novel way to deliver an older drug so that it's easier to take and might even work a little better.
The patch, which infuses the drug Exelon through patients' skin, headlines a trio of innovative potential treatments unveiled Wednesday at an Alzheimer's meeting in Spain. Also under study are a prostate cancer drug that may help dementia, too, and an immune therapy to ward off the sticky gunk that is Alzheimer's brain-clogging hallmark.
The Exelon patch is furthest in the pipeline, with maker Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. poised to seek U.S. sales approval by year's end.
"It would be good to have an alternative" to oral medication, Dr. Bengt Winblad of Sweden's Karolinska Institute, who led the patch research, said in a telephone interview. "It's a useful approach, a new treatment strategy that would be very appreciated not only by the patients, but the caregivers."
About 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's, a toll expected to reach a staggering 14 million by 2050 with the graying of the population. It gradually robs sufferers of their memories and ability to care for themselves, eventually killing them.
There is no known cure or prevention; today's drugs only temporarily treat symptoms. Exelon does that by inhibiting the breakdown of a brain chemical called acetylcholine, which is vital for nerve cells to communicate with each other. The longer acetylcholine sticks around, the longer those cells can call up memories.