Donepezil for Alzheimer's disease in clinical practice--The DONALD Study. A multicenter 24-week clinical trial in Germany.
This multicenter open-label clinical trial was designed to investigate the safety and efficacy of donepezil, a selective acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in routine clinical practice in Germany. A total of 237 patients with mild-to-moderate AD were treated with donepezil for 24 weeks, 186 completed the study according to the protocol. In the completer group, mean MMSE score for efficacy showed an improvement from baseline of +1.6 points at week 12 (95% CI +1.1 to +2.1) and of +1.1 points at week 24 (95% CI +0.5 to +1.7). In more than 80% of the patients, global tolerability was rated to be very good or good. There were only insignificant effects on ECG parameters. This study confirms the results obtained in previous double-blind trials, which showed that donepezil is effective and well tolerated in patients with mild-to-moderately severe AD.
Froelich
L
L
Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Central Institute for Mental Health Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. froelich@zi-mannheim.de
Gertz
H-J
HJ
Heun
R
R
Heuser
I
I
Jendroska
K
K
Kornhuber
J
J
Kurz
A
A
Mueller-Thomsen
T
T
Ries
F
F
Waechtler
C
C
Metz
M
M
Goebel
C
C
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077265:Donepezil; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007189:Indans / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010880:Piperidines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D007189:Indans; D018697:Nootropic Agents; D010880:Piperidines; D000077265:Donepezil