Researchers Say Drug From Bulb of Snowdrop Plant May Improve Memory

Australian researchers report that a drug taken from the bulb of the snowdrop plant may help improve memory and thinking in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. Michael Woodward, director of aged care services at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Center in Victoria, Australia, said many patients who fail to respond to other Alzheimer's treatments show improvement when given galantamine (Reminyl).

Galantamine is made from the Caucasian snowdrop and has been used as an herbal remedy in Eastern Europe for half a century.

Results of clinical trials of Reminyl, according to Woodward, show that the drug may be at least as effective as Aricept and Exelon, two other Alzheimer's drugs currently on the market.

"There is some evidence that it may be more effective for some people," said Woodward. "At least 50 to 80 percent of patients who failed to respond to the other medication are very likely to respond to this."

Galantamine works the same as the other two drugs but has an additional effect of turning on the brain's nicotinic receptors, which are involved in making cognitive connections, said Woodward.

Other sources: AAP