BACKGROUND/AIMS Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) greatly increase caregiver burden. The abilities of donepezil and memantine to manage BPSD within their licensed indications in AD were compared. METHODS A systematic review, random effects meta-analysis and Bucher indirect comparison were conducted. RESULTS Six randomised controlled studie...

BACKGROUND Donepezil is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor indicated for Alzheimer's disease. The aim of this randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, single-dose, dose-escalation study was to investigate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of the donepezil patch in healthy male subjects. METHODS Each healthy male subject received a single transdermal donepezil patch (72 hours ...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effect of Donepezil on cerebral blood flow velocity using non-invasive transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography. METHODS This clinical trial was carried out in the Department of Neurology, Alzahra Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran from March 2008 to July 2009, on Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients in 2 groups of case and control, each consi...

MAIN RESULTS Compared with placebo, neither vitamin E nor donepezil altered the probability of progression to Alzheimer’s disease after three years (vitamin E v placebo: HR for progression 1.02, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.41; donepezil v placebo: HR for progression 0.80, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.13). However, there was some indication that donepezil slowed progression to Alzheimer’s disease over the first two ye...

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChIs) are widely used in the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD), but their cholinergic effects could generate adverse side effects in the cardiovascular system. This report presents the cases of 2 patients who experienced adverse side effects of cardiac rhythm with QT prolongation caused by Donepezil. Both of them improved to the original rh...

We describe three cases of patients with Alzheimer's disease who presented with cardiac syncope soon after initiation of a cholinesterase inhibitor therapy (donepezil). Bradyarrhythmia was documented in two patients, considered probable in one, and was presumed related to the cholinergic therapy. Pacemaker implantation seemed justified rather than donepezil cessation. More over, it permitted an...

BACKGROUND Cholinesterase inhibitors produce small improvements in cognitive and global assessments in Alzheimer's disease. We aimed to determine whether donepezil produces worthwhile improvements in disability, dependency, behavioural and psychological symptoms, carers' psychological wellbeing, or delay in institutionalisation. If so, which patients benefit, from what dose, and for how long? ...

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are known to be down-regulated in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease. It was previously shown that the nootropic drugs nefiracetam and galantamine potentiate the activity of both nicotinic and NMDA receptors. We hypothesized that donepezil, a nootropic with a potent anticholinesterase activity, might also af...

Despite three decades of intensive research in the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and numerous clinical trials of new therapeutic agents, cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) are still the mainstay of therapeutics for AD and dementia with Lewy bodies. Pharmacodynamic analyses of ChEIs provide paradoxical observations. Treatment with the rapidly reversible, noncarbamylating ChEIs (donepezil, gal...