Donepezil is a cholinesterase inhibitor widely used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Voltage-gated K(+)-channels are discussed as possible targets for the drug, but the results obtained by different authors are contradictory. In the present study performed on pyramidal cells isolated from rat's hippocampus, we investigated the effect of donepezil on delayed rectifier K(+)-current (I(K(...

BACKGROUND This is the first meta-analysis to compare the treatment effects and safety of administering donepezil alone versus a combination of memantine and donepezil to treat patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer Disease, particularly regarding cognitive functions, behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia (BPSD), and global functions. METHODS PubMed, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO,...

Donepezil is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor used in Alzheimer's disease therapy. The neuroprotective effect of donepezil has been demonstrated in a number of different models of neurodegeneration including beta-amyloid toxicity. Since the mechanisms of neurodegeneration involve the activation of both Ca(2+)- and K(+)-channels, the study of donepezil action on voltage-gated ionic currents loo...

Acetylcholine (ACh) esterase inhibitors like galantamine and donepezil have been tested as adjunct treatment in schizophrenia. Although ACh esterase inhibition might confer some antipsychotic activity, the role of allosteric potentiation of nicotinic ACh receptors (nAChRs), which is an additional mechanism of galantamine, remains elusive. Therefore, the potential antipsychotic-like effects of g...

Donepezil, a highly selective acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI), is approved as a symptomatic treatment mild, moderate, and severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). Donepezil exerts its treatment effect through multiple mechanisms of action including nicotinic receptor stimulation, mitigation of excitotoxicity, and influencing APP processing. The use of donepezil at higher doses is justified given...

UNLABELLED Brain cholinergic function has been previously studied with PET but little effort has been devoted to imaging peripheral organs. Many disorders, including diabetes and Parkinson disease, are associated with autonomic dysfunction including parasympathetic denervation. Nonneuronal cholinergic signaling is also involved in immune responses to infections and in cancer pathogenesis. 5-(11...

Background: Vascular dementia is one of the most common forms of dementia. At now, there is no treatment available to cure vascular dementia or to alter its clinical course. Some studies suggest that some drugs may be useful in controlling symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of donepezil, memantine, rivastigmine and galantamine on mean flow velocity and ...

BACKGROUND/AIMS The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of donepezil on extrapyramidal symptoms in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). METHODS Using pooled datasets from phase 2 and 3, 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled trials (RCT, n = 281) and 52-week open-label long-term extension trials (OLE, n = 241) of donepezil in DLB, the effects of donepezil on the incidence o...

INTRODUCTION A significant number of mania patients fail to respond to current pharmacotherapy, thereby there is need for novel augmentation strategies. The results of some early studies showed the effectiveness of cholinomimetics in the treatment of mania. One open case series suggested the efficacy of donepezil in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Our aim was to explore whether an oral choli...