Safety and efficacy of rivastigmine and memantine combined for treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease: a retrospective study.

Objective: To assess the effects and safety of combining rivastigmine hydrogen tartrate capsules with memantine tablets for Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on AD patients admitted to The Third People's Hospital of Yongkang from November 2021 to June 2023. There were two groups: a single drug group (n=21) given only memantine tablets, and a combination group (n=39) treated with both rivastigmine hydrogen tartrate capsules and memantine tablets. Data were collected, including age, gender, education, overall response rate, adverse reaction rate, mini-mental state examination (MMSE), activity of daily living (ADL), behavioral pathology in Alzheimer's disease scale (BEHAVE-AD), serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and serum Tau at baseline and at week 12.

Results: In both groups, compared to baseline, at week 12, MMSE increased, while ADL, BEHAVE-AD, serum TNF-α, IL-6, and Tau decreased (all P<0.05). After treatment, compared with the single drug group at week 12, the combination group had a higher MMSE (t=2.519, P=0.015), better effectiveness (χ²=4.331, P=0.037), and lower ADL (t=2.418, P=0.019), BEHAVE-AD (t=3.231, P=0.002), TNF-α (t=3.496, P=0.001), IL-6 (t=2.513, P=0.015) and Tau (t=2.290, P=0.026) levels.

Conclusion: The combination of the two drugs was more effective in alleviating AD symptoms with comparable safety. It also showed an edge in suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines and Tau in AD.