title: Long-Term Cognitive Improvement After Benfotiamine Administration in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease.
abstract: To date, we still lack disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we report that long-term administration of benfotiamine improved the cognitive ability of patients with AD. Five patients with mild to moderate AD received oral benfotiamine (300 mg daily) over 18 months. All patients were examined by positron emission tomography with Pittsburgh compound B (PiB-PET) and exhibited positive imaging with β-amyloid deposition, and three received PiB-PET imaging at follow-up. The five patients exhibited cognitive improvement as assayed by the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) with an average increase of 3.2 points at month 18 of benfotiamine administration. The three patients who received follow-up PiB-PET had a 36.7% increase in the average standardized uptake value ratio in the brain compared with that in the first scan. Importantly, the MMSE scores of these three had an average increase of 3 points during the same period. Benfotiamine significantly improved the cognitive abilities of mild to moderate AD patients independently of brain amyloid accumulation. Our study provides new insight to the development of disease-modifying therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Zhichun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Guoqiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fei
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Shumei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: PET Center, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200443, China.
authors.forename: Weiqi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: PET Center, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200443, China.
authors.forename: Shuhua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: PET Center, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200443, China.
authors.forename: Yihui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China. zhongcj@163.com.
authors.forename: Chunjiu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhong
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D000814:Aniline Compounds / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D013831:Thiamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: C475519:2-(4'-(methylamino)phenyl)-6-hydroxybenzothiazole; D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000814:Aniline Compounds; D013844:Thiazoles; D013831:Thiamine; C013835:benphothiamine
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Amyloid deposition; Benfotiamine; PiB-PET; Therapy