The treatment options for Alzheimer's type dementia are limited to the use of acetyl-cholinesterase inhibitors, along with memantine in some cases, and offer variable success in the treatment of cognitive impairment and to improve or stabilize activities of daily living, behavioral abnormalities, and impairment of global function. This review examines dimebolin, a nonselective antihistamine drug that has been used in Russia in the past for its antihistamine effect and has now generated considerable interest in the treatment of Alzheimer's type dementia, following results in the initial trials (Doody et al., 2008) and is currently under further evaluation. This article considers various theories proposed to explain its effect in the treatment of dementia. The results from further trials will help to clarify the future of dimebolin as a potential treatment for chronic neurodegenerative disorders that include dementia that affects 25 million people worldwide.
© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.