Treatments
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Alzheimer's disease treatments
Treatments currently available on the NHS for Alzheimer’s can help someone to manage their symptoms for a time. But they do not stop the underlying disease from getting worse.
It’s important to discuss your treatment options with the people involved in your care.
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Drug treatments
Doctors often refer to people as having mild, moderate or severe Alzheimer’s disease. This reflects how much symptoms affect the person’s day to day life. Different drug treatments are recommended at different stages of the disease.
After your diagnosis, your GP or a specialist will usually start any medicine to help with Alzheimer’s symptoms. Your GP will then review your treatment regularly to see how it’s working for you.
Donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine
People with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease could benefit from taking a drug called a cholinesterase inhibitor.
There are three cholinesterase inhibitors to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer’s:
- donepezil (Aricept)
- rivastigmine (Exelon)
- and galantamine (Reminyl).
These medicines do not stop Alzheimer’s from getting worse, but they may help some people manage their symptoms better than they would without treatment.
Some people with Alzheimer’s find their symptoms improve by taking a cholinesterase inhibitor. Others may not notice an effect.
Doctors will continue to prescribe one of these drugs as symptoms get worse, so long as it is safe and suitable to do so.
These medicines come in different forms, like tablets, liquids or patches. This means there are choices if swallowing is difficult or if another form is easier for you.
A doctor, nurse or pharmacist can help you find the one that suits you best. The table below shows the options for each medicine.
| Medicine | Pill | Dissolvable tablet | Liquid | Patch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donepezil | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Rivastigmine | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Galantamine | ✓ | ✓ |
Dissolvable tablets may melt in the mouth or be dissolvable in water.
Memantine
Memantine, also known as Ebixa or Axura, is recommended for people with moderate or severe Alzheimer’s disease.
It may be used for people with moderate Alzheimer’s if cholinesterase inhibitors don’t help or are not suitable.
People with moderate or severe Alzheimer’s disease are sometimes prescribed a cholinesterase inhibitor and memantine together.
Memantine is also available in a few different forms. A doctor, nurse or pharmacist can help you find the one that suits you best.
| Medicine | Pill | Dissolvable tablet | Liquid | Patch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memantine | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Medicines for mood and behaviour changes
Complementary therapies
New Alzheimer's treatments
There are two new medicines that can slow down symptoms of the very early stages of Alzheimer’s. They are called lecanemab (Leqembi) and donanemab (kisunla).
They are currently only offered by specialist private healthcare providers and as part of research trials running in certain centres in the UK. They are not available on the NHS.
Neither lecanemab nor donanemab are a cure. But they may allow some people with early Alzheimer’s to live independently and with milder symptoms for longer.
Have you or a loved one recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease?
If you have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in the last two years and would like help shape our work please get in touch via stories@alzheimersresearchuk.org
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Dementia information
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Read more about treatments for dementia, including information on treating depression, anxiety and agitation and for information on antipsychotics.
This information was updated in May 2026 and is due for review in May 2028. It was written by Alzheimer's Research UK's Information Services team with input from lay and expert reviewers. Please get in touch if you'd like a referenced copy.
This information is produced with support from The Perfume Shop who had no input into the content.
