Donepezil treatment in Alzheimer's disease patients with and without cerebrovascular lesions: a preliminary report.

摘要

AIM: 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. CONCLUSION: The presence of CVL should not deter clinicians from treating AD with donepezil.