Donepezil treatment in Alzheimer's disease patients with and without cerebrovascular lesions: a preliminary report.
OBJECTIVE
Donepezil has not been evaluated in Korean patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) for up to 1 year. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the differential efficacy of donepezil in Korean AD patients with and without concomitant cerebrovascular lesions (CVL).


METHODS
This study was a 48-week open-label trial of donepezil in patients with probable AD of mild to moderate severity. CVL were evaluated through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings within 3 months. Efficacy analyses were performed for cognitive, behavioral and functional outcome measures.


RESULTS
Concomitant CVL were documented in 35 (30.7%) of the patients on MRI. Seventy-nine (69.3%) of the patients were considered not to have concomitant CVL. The mean Mini-Mental State Examination scores of both patients with and without CVL showed improvement at each evaluation. However, there was no statistical difference in improvement between the groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The presence of CVL should not deter clinicians from treating AD with donepezil.
Na
Hae-Ri
HR
Department of Neurology, Bobath Memorial Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Kim
SangYun
S
Choi
Seong-Hye
SH
Yang
Dong-Won
DW
Bae
Hee-Joon
HJ
Kim
Jung-Eun
JE
Park
Mee-Young
MY
Shim
Yong-Soo
YS
Kim
Byung-Kun
BK
Kwon
Jae-Cheol
JC
Yoo
Bong-Goo
BG
Kim
Byeong-Chae
BC
Lee
Jung-Seok
JS
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077265:Donepezil; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007189:Indans / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010880:Piperidines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D007189:Indans; D010880:Piperidines; D000077265:Donepezil