There are several meds for Alzheimer's disease. None of them cure Alzheimer's but they slow down the progression of the disease. This will often give the patient an extra year or two, or more, before they will require to be placed in a nursing home. Those are extra years that the patient can live with family members. My mother had Alzheimer's but was not in need of nursing home care. With our rapidly aging population Alzheimer's is becoming more and more prevalent and tons of money are spent on research to find a cure.