The skin patch manufactured by the Swiss drugmaker Novartis is called Exelon and provides a new way of delivering the drug to patients suffering from mild to moderately severe Alzheimer's disease.

The Exelon patch is applied to the back, chest or upper arm, and was approved by the European Medicines Agency in July; such approval usually precedes approval by the European Commission.

The rivastigmine transdermal patch ensures steady drug levels are maintained in the bloodstream and helps to fight the disease and also reduces side-effects; Alzheimer's alters the brain and causes impaired memory, thinking and behaviour.

A recent survey of Alzheimer's disease care givers, found that 70% of them preferred the patch over traditional medicine as it made it easier to follow treatment schedules.

The United States approved the Alzheimer patch in August but has warned Novartis regarding misleading claims about the medicine's effectiveness and risks in the promotion of Exelon.

The European Union has also recommended Novartis's experimental leukaemia drug Tasigna and a new medication, Eucreas, which is a combination of the company's Galvus pill with the older medicine metformin as a treatment for diabetes.

Fifty percent of the cancers in the CAD-positive participants were early stage.

The researchers also found that both the metabolic syndrome and history of smoking were strong independent predictive factors for the positive association between advanced lesions and CAD.

The authors suggest that both colorectal neoplasm and CAD probably developed as a result of chronic inflammation which is recognized as being pivotal in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and therefore CAD.

Colorectal cancer is also thought to progress through the pathway of inflammation.

The authors say the cholesterol-lowering drugs statins appear to have a deterrent effect on both illnesses, perhaps because the drugs reduce inflammation; Aspirin too appears to reduce the risk.

The study is published in the September 26 issue of JAMA.