Comparative Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Rivastigmine 10 and 15 cm^2 Patch in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease (AD) Showing Cognitive Decline

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female patients between 50 and 85 years of age with a diagnosis of probableAlzheimers Disease,

• Baseline Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score 10-24 inclusive,

• A primary caregiver willing to accept responsibility for supervising treatment,assessing the patient's condition throughout the study, and for providing input intoefficacy assessments.

• For double blind only: Meet the decline criteria of functional (as assessed by theinvestigator) and cognitive (assessed by a 1 point reduction in Mini-Mental StateExamination) score between visits or a 3 point reduction from baseline) decline atweeks 23, 36 or 48.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of an advanced, severe, progressive, or unstable disease of any type thatcould interfere with efficacy and safety assessments or put the patient at particularrisk,

• Any medical or neurological condition other than Alzheimers Disease that could explainthe patient's dementia,

• A diagnosis of probable or possible vascular dementia,

• A current diagnosis of unsuccessfully-treated depression, or any other mental disorderthat may interfere with the evaluation of the patient's response to study medication,

• A history or current diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease (e.g. stroke),

• A current diagnosis of severe or unstable cardiovascular disease (e.g. unstablecoronary artery disease). Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply.