A 24 Week, Multicenter, Open, Evaluation of the Clinical Effectiveness of the Once-daily 10 cm^2 Rivastigmine Patch Formulation in Patients With Probable Alzheimer's Disease (EXTRA)

A 24 Week, Multicenter, Open, Evaluation of the Clinical Effectiveness of the Once-daily 10 cm2 Rivastigmine Patch Formulation in Patients With Probable Alzheimer's Disease (MMSE 10-26)

This study is designed to confirm the efficacy, the tolerability, the patient compliance and the caregiver satisfaction with rivastigmine target patch size 10 cm^2 in patients with probable Alzheimer's Disease (Mini-Mental State Examination 10-26) in the community setting

Inclusion Criteria:

• Males, and females of at least 50 years old with a primary caregiver
• Probable Alzheimer's disease
• Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of ≥ 10 and ≤ 26
• Patients initiating therapy for the first time with a Cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitor (patients prescribed both rivastigmine and memantine are allowed) or patients who failed to benefit from previous ChE inhibitor treatment
• Residing with someone in the community throughout the study or, if living alone, in contact with the responsible caregiver everyday

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients not treated according to the product monograph for capsules
• Current diagnosis of an active skin lesion/disorder that would prevent accurate assessment of the adhesion and potential skin irritation of the patch (e.g., atopic dermatitis, wounded or scratched skin in the area of the patch application)
• History of allergy to topical products containing any of the constituents of the patches

Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply.