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Why Alternative Medications Vary in Quality and Content
The FDA requires pharmaceuticals, both prescription and over-the-counter, to be tested periodically
to prove that their actual content lies within a 10 percent range of what is listed on the label: a 300
mg tablet must contain between 270 mg and 330 mg in serially tested batches, otherwise the
manufacturer is forced to stop producing the medication. Such testing is not required for unregulated
herbal, plant, or other alternative products sold in health food stores or similar outlets, which is why
their content and quality, and hence their effectiveness and side effects, vary widely among different
brands of the same product.
Taking Medications to Improve Memory: What to Ask Your Doctor
Why am I taking this particular medication?
How does this medication work on my memory?
How much improvement can I reasonably expect?
What is the right dose to take?
Does it interfere with any other medicines I am taking?
What are the common side effects?
How long do I need to take it?
Is the medicine addictive in any way?
Can I drink alcohol while taking it?
Is there any risk in stopping it for a few days at a time?
Most studies of treatments for mild memory loss have evaluated people over a few months or at
most a year or two. If there is a slight improvement in memory functioning, will this effect be
maintained ten, twenty years down the road? Also, will continuous long-term usage result in
medication side effects that we did not see in the short-term? Although we don't yet have the answers
from long-term therapeutic trials, the research evidence from short-term to intermediate-term studies
with a variety of medications is now sufficient to help build a sound program to prevent memory loss
due to the aging process.
