2. Duration of Therapy

ACIs do not alter the long-term progressive decline of Alzheimer’s disease, but have been shown to delay time to institutionalization, which may be cost-effective. ACIs may be prescribed to stabilize dementia in Alzheimer’s patients, as determined by periodic assessment of functional and cognitive ability. ACIs should be discontinued when dementia becomes unresponsive to therapy and progressively severe, as the efficacy of these agents diminishes due to loss of intact cholinergic neurons.