Summary

This article presents data from the Investigation of Transdermal Exelon in Alzheimer's disease [IDEAL] trial. Rivastigmine is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor approved for the treatment of mild to moderate dementia in both Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Rivastigmine is currently available in capsule formulation, and its pharmacological characteristics are compatible with transdermal delivery. The IDEAL study was conducted to determine whether the efficacy and safety of a transdermal formulation of rivastigmine would be equivalent to the oral formulation, and to collect long-term safety data.