I saw this second post last week by Angela Taylor, the president of the Lewy Body Dementia Association, in a couple of places. She mentions these medications for which I’m adding the brand names (in parentheses): donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), and galantamine (Razadyne, which used to be called Reminyl).
Robin
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Anesthesia and LBD
Posted by: “jaektaylor”
Date: Thu Jan 11, 2007
We’ve all talked about how our loved ones respond poorly to most
anesthesia. The following verbiage is going to be included in the
next version of the LBDA’s informational pamphlet. Here it is for
you, before it’s even ‘hot off the presses!’
“When considering any surgery, caregivers should meet with the
anesthesiologist in advance. People with LBD often respond to certain
anesthetics and surgery with acute confusional states (delirium)
and/or may have a precipitous drop in functional abilities which may
or may not be permanent. The pros and cons of stopping donepezil,
rivastigmine, or galantamine should be carefully considered. If a
spinal block or regional block can be used instead of general
anesthesia, this would be preferred as those methods are less likely
to result in postoperative confusion.”