ACHE and Alzheimer disease: AChE inhibitors have a unique position in the armamentarium of AD in that they offer two different benefits: (1) they directly increase the impact of basal forebrain synaptic acetylcholine on the target tissues associated with cognitive functions; and, (2) they have a less well understood long-term anti-neurodegenerative benefits which include slowing the progression of CNS atrophy and slowing the progression of AD through the clinical stages of dementia.