Alzheimer Treatment: Exelon, RivastigmineIn this section:Exelon is one of a group of drugs called cholinesterase inhibitors which is used to treat symptoms in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. In the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease there is a progressive degeneration of nerve cells, particularly of the cells that make acetylcholine, a chemical thought to be important for learning and memory. Because of this, people with Alzheimer's disease have lower brain levels of acetylcholine. It is believed that Exelon works by reducing the breakdown of acetylcholine and thus increasing the amount of the chemical in the brain. It has also been suggested, based on data from animal experiments, that the medication enhances the action of acetylcholine by making the receptors it interacts with in the brain more responsive. In the region of the brain first affected by Alzheimer's disease, that dealing with cognition and memory, too little acetylcholine is available at the junctions between nerve cells to get messages across to the next nerve cell. The situation is helped, therefore, not only by preserving the acetylcholine from being destroyed by cholinesterase, but by making the receptors more responsive to the lower amounts of acetylcholine.Whether this effect is also true for humans is unknown.