Comparison of functional and cognitive donepezil effects in Alzheimer's disease.
Donepezil has been shown to improve aspects of cognitive functioning in persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD), but its impact on instrumental activities of daily living has received little attention. In a within-subject design, 24 community-dwelling persons with AD were treated with open-label donepezil over a 12-month period. To assess functional abilities, a brief, objective measure of instrumental activities of daily living skills was used (Texas Functional Living Scale; TFLS). Global cognitive abilities were assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Changes in TFLS and MMSE scores were much the same. Improvements on the TFLS and MMSE were seen over a 3-month period. At 12 months, both TFLS and MMSE scores declined slightly below baseline. These results support an effect of donepezil on cognitive measures and day-to-day function and also suggest that the MMSE reflects well the actual functional ability of persons with moderate AD.
Saine
Kathleen
K
Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 75390-9070, USA.
Cullum
C Munro
CM
Martin-Cook
Kristin
K
Hynan
Linda
L
Svetlik
Doris A
DA
Weiner
Myron F
MF
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000077265:Donepezil; D006801:Humans; D007189:Indans / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010880:Piperidines / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D007189:Indans; D010880:Piperidines; D000077265:Donepezil