PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Fadi Massoud TI - Maladie d’Alzheimer DP - 2007 Jan 01 TA - Canadian Family Physician PG - 50--54 VI - 53 IP - 1 4099 - http://www.cfp.ca/content/53/1/50.short 4100 - http://www.cfp.ca/content/53/1/50.full SO - Can Fam Physician2007 Jan 01; 53 AB - OBJECTIVE Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. There have been many advances in the pharmacological treatment of AD in recent years. This article discusses 2 of these advances: vascular prevention and a new molecule, memantine. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE The conclusions and recommendations in this article are based on data from studies providing level I and level II evidence. MAIN MESSAGE Recent data suggest that vascular disease plays an important role in the physiopathology of AD. Memantine is a non-competitive, low-affinity N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist of glutamate that offers a very attractive efficacy and safety profile for treating moderate to severe AD. CONCLUSION The prevention and treatment of vascular risk factors should be an integral part of the management of AD. For the treatment of moderate to severe AD, memantine is a new option that is effective and well tolerated.