Complain about a product or service

Alzheimer’s Drug Seen As “Safe, Effective”

July 31, 2007

• Too Much Selenium Can Increase Cholesterol • Money Management Problems Could Be Alzheimer's Warning • Mediterranean Diet Linked With Lower Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease • High Cholesterol In Midlife Raises Risk Of Late-Life Dementia • Some Blood Pressure Drugs May Help Protect Against Dementia • Study Suggests Earlier Alzheimer's Treatment • Alzheimer's Cases Rise Among "Oldest Old" • Researchers Find Caffeine Effective Alzheimer’s Treatment • Landmark Alzheimer's Drug Cleared For Clinical Trials • Blood Test May Diagnose Alzheimer's • Diet May Be Factor in Memory Retention • Insulin May Combat Alzheimer's • Moderate Drinking Can Reduce Risks of Alzheimer's • Daily Pill Said To Stop Alzheimer's • Low Levels of 'Good Cholesterol' Linked to Memory Loss, Dementia Risk • Chemical in Celery May Fight Alzheimer's • Dementia Linked To Obesity • Studies Find Link Between Diabetes and Alzheimer's --- • Index to all Alzheimer's stories

As the Baby Boomers begin to move into the high-risk group for Alzheimer’s disease, researchers continue making strides toward treating it.

In the latest advance, scientists say a drug initially used to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease improved the memory and global function of people with severe Alzheimer’s disease and was safe and effective.

The study appears in the July 31, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The six-month study involved 343 people with severe Alzheimer’s disease at clinics in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Half of the group received a daily dose of donepezil; the other half received placebo. Cognitive tests were performed throughout the study.

The study found cognitive function stabilized or improved in 63 percent of people taking donepezil compared to 39 percent of people taking placebo. Compared to the placebo group, those taking donepezil showed improvement in memory, language, attention, and recognizing one’s name.

The donepezil group also showed less of a decline in social interaction, skills needed to complete a jigsaw puzzle, and arranging sentences compared to the placebo group.

“The effectiveness of donepezil in preserving cognitive and global function in people with severe Alzheimer’s disease, as evidenced by this study and others, is encouraging,” said study author Sandra Black, MD, Brill Professor of Neurology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto in Canada, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.

“People who progress to the severe stage of Alzheimer’s disease have markedly diminished cognitive and global function, so preserving cognitive function is a worthwhile treatment goal because it may help to keep patients at home longer, something that patients and caregivers often desire and which delays the costs of nursing home care,” said Black.

Black says the most common side effects reported in this study, diarrhea, insomnia, nausea, infection, and bladder problems, were mild to moderate and consistent with the known side effects of such drugs.

“Our findings provide further evidence that donepezil is safe, effective and benefits cognition and global function in people with severe Alzheimer’s disease,” she said.

The study was supported by Eisai Inc. and Pfizer Inc., makers of donepezil. Donepezil is now approved for treatment of mild, moderate and severe Alzheimer’s disease.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.