BMJ  2007;335:744 (13 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.335.7623.744-c

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Donepezil fails to reduce agitation in people with dementia

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Memory loss and other cognitive impairments are the hallmarks of dementia. But many patients are also agitated and confused, and these symptoms cause most distress to carers. Few effective drug treatments exist. Donepezil is the latest to fail in clinical trials. It had no effect on symptoms of agitation in 272 patients with Alzheimer's disease living with carers or in care homes in the UK. This double blinded placebo controlled trial lasted 12 weeks. Donepezil helped to slow cognitive decline, but only slightly. The drug made an adjusted difference of only 7 points on the 100 point scale of the severe impairment battery, and only 1.5 points on the 30 point scale of the standardised mini-mental state examination. These small effects may not mean much to patients or their carersGo.

This trial, and others reporting disappointing results with atypical antipsychotics, leave doctors with few options, says an editorial (p . . . [Full text of this article]


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