A method for treating symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease by administering an effective amount of a compound, racemate, isolated R or S enantionmer, solvate, hydrate or salt having the formula: X--terminal heterocyclic moiety. In the above formula, the terminal heterocyclic moiety is a 3,7-dimethylxanthinyl, 3-methylxanthinyyl or xanthinyl moiety and X is: ##STR1## n is zero or an integer from one to four; and m is an integer from seven to fourteen. For compounds useful in the inventive method, R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are hydrogen, a straight or branched chain alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl of up to twenty carbon atoms in length or --(CH.sub.2).sub.w R.sub.5. w may be an integer from one to twenty and R.sub.5 is preferably an hydroxyl, halo C.sub.1-8 alkoxyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted carbocycle or heterocycle. R.sub.3 in compounds useful in the inventive method may be either an hydroxyl group, an oxygen atom, the single bond represented being instead a double bond, or --O--R.sub.4, R.sub.4 being a C.sub.1-6 oxoalkyl.