Tacrine efficacy in Lewy body dementia.
BACKGROUND
Response to tacrine varies among patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Lewy body dementia (LBD) could be a high responder subtype of AD. The aim of the study was to compare the effects of tacrine in LBD and AD.


METHODS
Seventy-five consecutive outpatients with mild or moderate AD were screened. Tacrine was given at a dose of 40 mg/day during 6 weeks. During the next 6 weeks, the patients were treated with 80 mg/day and afterwards with 120 mg/day. Patients were assessed at baseline and treated with a dose of 120 mg/day tacrine for 2 weeks.


RESULTS
Analysis was performed on 39 patients (AD, N = 20; LBD, N = 19). Eight patients were lost to follow-up, eight patients manifested with side-effects, six suffered from an intercurrent somatic disease during the study and 14 patients had poor compliance or were treated with incompatible drugs. Twenty-two patients (11 AD/11 LBD) increased their cognitive performances with tacrine. Among the 22 patients, the improvement differed between the AD and the LBD groups. In AD, conceptualization improved; in LBD, the improvements occurred in verbal initiation and digit span.


CONCLUSIONS
This study emphasizes the importance of using appropriate tests to determine the positive effects of pharmacological treatments.
Lebert
F
F
Memory Clinic, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire and Faculté de Médecine, Lille, France. fllebert@minitel.net
Pasquier
F
F
Souliez
L
L
Petit
H
H
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016631:Lewy Bodies; D008297:Male; D013619:Tacrine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D013619:Tacrine