Metrifonate for Alzheimer's Disease Patients

Letter to the Editor

Sir: Metrifonate, an organophosphate compound synthesizedin the 1950s, is widely used as an insecticide for fruit andfield crops, as an antiparasitic agent for domestic animals, andas a second-line antischistosomiasis agent in humans. Becauseof the irreversible cholinesterase inhibitor propertiesof metrifonate, Becker and colleagues proposed it for improvingcognitive function in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.Published and unpublished results of phase 3 clinical trials generallysupport metrifonate’s essential cognitive efficacy.