10 Feb 2001

According to a "Dear Healthcare Provider" letter dated January 26 and posted this week on the Web site of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, patients who take breaks in Exelon (rivastigmine tartrate) therapy for longer than about three days should resume treatment at the lowest daily dose. "After reinitiating therapy, patients should be titrated back to their maintenance dose," the letter advises. Exelon was approved in the U.S. in late April for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Mild to moderate nausea and vomiting are common side effects of the therapy, as are weight loss, dyspepsia and weakness.—Hakon Heimer