title: Evidence-based pharmacological treatment of dementia.
abstract: The current literature on the pharmacological treatment of dementia was reviewed and the strength of evidence for the efficacy of each drug was categorized using an evidence-based approach. Acetylcholinesterase-inhibitors represent the only category of drugs with consistently demonstrable efficacy in well-designed studies of Alzheimer's disease, although the effect is not large. There is a lack of prospective, controlled, randomized studies for most of the nootropics. Epidemiological evidence suggests prophylactic effects of oestrogens and anti-inflammatory agents, and a single large-scale trial suggests that long-term administration of vitamin E or selegiline may be associated with improved outcome in patients with Alzheimer's disease. A number of drugs were reported to be effective in the treatment of non-cognitive symptoms of dementia including classical and atypical neuroleptics, antidepressants and anticonvulsants. The evidence for efficacy, however, is not strong for the majority of these compounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Istanbul Medical School, University of Istanbul, Turkey. muratemre@superonline.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Emre
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Hanaĝasi
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D003704:Dementia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D018450:Disease Progression; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans