Common Alzheimer’s drug may have a higher risk of hospitalization for muscle injury

Aricept, a drug commonly used to manage cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients, may be associated with a higher risk of hospitalizations. In a new study, researchers looked at more than 220,000 Canadian patients who were prescribed drugs for managing dementia — about 152,000 of these patients were prescribed Aricept. Although the overall rate of hospitalizations was still low, more people who took Aricept were hospitalized for a type of muscle injury — a known side effect of these drugs — than the people who took other drugs, including Exelon and Razadyne. There were 88 hospitalizations in the Aricept group compared to 16 in the other group. The study only included adults older than the age of 65, so the authors write that the findings may not be generalizable to adults below that age with dementia.