Pharmacological Comparison of Aricept, ReminylŽ and ExelonŽ
Chemical class Piperidine Alkaloid Carbamate
Mechanism Reversible Reversible Pseudo- irreversible
Half-life ~70 h 5.8 h ~2 h*
Hepatic monitoring No No No
*Apparent long duration of action (~10 h) due to slow-binding and time-dependent inhibitory kinetics of carbamates