title: Changes in gait variability with anti-dementia drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies have examined the effects of anti-dementia drugs on gait performance. No structured critical evaluation of these studies has been done so far. The objectives of this study were (1) to perform a qualitative analysis of all published studies on changes in stride time variability (STV) with anti-dementia drugs among patients with Alzheimer disease through a systematic review, and (2) to quantitatively synthesize anti-dementia drug-related changes in STV.
  
  
  METHODS
  An English and French MEDLINE search was conducted on November 2013, with no limit of date, using the Medical Subject Headings term "pharmaceutical preparations" combined with "delirium", "dementia", "amnestic", "cognitive disorders" AND "gait" OR "gait disorders, neurologic" OR "gait apraxia". Fixed-effects meta-analyses were performed to compare STV before and after the use of anti-dementia drugs, and to compare the final STV among participants in intervention and control groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 110 originally identified abstracts, four studies (i.e., one assessing galantamine, one donepezil, one memantine, and one memantine and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors) were included in the qualitative review, and three studies in the quantitative synthesis. Results were mixed, as two studies showed significant between-visit improvements (i.e., decrease in mean value) in STV, while one study did not, and the last one reported mixed results. In the meta-analysis, there was no difference between intervention and control groups (summary mean difference of final STV = -0.38 % [95 % confidence interval -1.14 to 0.37]) and no before-after difference in the intervention group (summary mean difference of STV = 0.66 [95 % confidence interval -0.17 to 1.49]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings showed inconclusive effects of anti-dementia drugs on STV.
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Neuroscience, UPRES EA 4638, UNAM, Angers University Hospital, 49933, Angers Cedex 9, France, olbeauchet@chu-angers.fr.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Beauchet
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Launay
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Allali
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Annweiler
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D000077265:Donepezil; D005684:Gait / Q000187:drug effects*; D005702:Galantamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007189:Indans / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008559:Memantine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010880:Piperidines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D007189:Indans; D018697:Nootropic Agents; D010880:Piperidines; D005702:Galantamine; D000077265:Donepezil; D008559:Memantine