BY: Dawn Tay

SHE was paranoid that everyone - including her husband - was trying to poison her and refused to take her medication.

The 80-year-old Alzheimer's patient is one of those who benefited from Novartis' recent trial of its new Exelon patch. The patch was launched yesterday by the multi-national drug maker.

Instead of popping Exelon pills - a common drug used to treat Alzheimer's - twice a day, patients can apply the patch daily. It releases a continuous stream of the drug into the patient's bloodstream.

A Novartis study in 2006 that involved around 1,200 participants worldwide with probable Alzheimer's symptoms showed that Exelon-patch users had better memory improvement than participants on Exelon pills.

Alzheimer's is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain with no known cure. Symptoms include memory loss, loss of bodily functions and behavioural changes.

The six-month-long study - most participants were in their early 70s - also showed that patch-users could go about their daily activities more efficiently.

Approved last year in Europe and the United States, the Exelon patch is the only skin patch for the treatment of the disease's symptoms, Novartis said. It was approved for use here by the Health Sciences Authority in April.

According to a 2006 report by international organisation Alzheimer's Disease International, the number of Alzheimer's cases in Singapore will more than double to 52,600 by 2020.

To fight this rising trend, three local doctors my paper spoke to are cautiously in favour of this new method of treatment.

Dr Ho King Hee, 45, a neurologist of 15 years, started using the patch on one of his Alzheimer's patients last week. Said Dr Ho, who runs a clinic in Gleneagles Medical Centre: "With a lower dosage, the patch has less side effects (vomiting and nausea), but achieves the same results as pills of higher dosage."

The Exelon Patch is available in two strengths - Exelon Patch 5 (which delivers 4.6mg every 24 hours) and the Exelon Patch 10 (9.5mg every 24 hours). The highest-dose Exelon capsule available delivers 12mg of the drug per day.

Some Alzheimer's sufferers are also paranoid about taking pills, according to a nursing home administrator who declined to be named. She cited patient confidentiality.

Said the 62-year-old: "Sometimes, we have to mix pills with jam and milk to coax patients into taking them."

Dr Lim Li Ling, 40, a neurologist, said she is considering using the patch on her Alzheimer's patients who find swallowing pills difficult. However, she cautioned that Asians might prefer to stick with pills.

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