Aricept of benefit to patients with severe AD

The results of an international study, published in the July 31 edition of the journal Neurology, indicates that Japanese drugmaker Eisai's Aricept (donezepil HCl tablets) can improve cognition and global functioning in patients entering the severe stages of Alzheimer's disease.

The program was co-funded by Eisai and and Pfizer Canada, which sells the drug in its home territory, and was a placebo-controlled, 24-week assessment, conducted at 98 sites in Canada, the UK and the USA. In total, 343 AD sufferers were recruited, 176 of whom were provided with a 10mg daily-dose of the drug. Therapeutic efficacy was assessed using both Severe Impairment Battery total score and Clinical Interview Based Impression of Change Plus criteria.

The results showed that significantly more patients in the Aricept cohort demonstrated stable disease or symptom improvement than in the group that received placebo. Furthermore, the drug was generally well-tolerated, with the most frequently reported adverse events being diarrhea, insomnia, nausea, infection, urinary incontinence and pain.