Alzheimer's treatment. Essay

Submitted By fknull
Words: 380
Pages: 2

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original article

Donepezil and Memantine for Moderate-to-Severe Alzheimer’s Disease
Robert Howard, M.D., Rupert McShane, F.R.C.Psych., James Lindesay, D.M.,
Craig Ritchie, M.D., Ph.D., Ashley Baldwin, M.R.C.Psych., Robert Barber, M.D.,
Alistair Burns, F.R.C.Psych., Tom Dening, F.R.C.Psych., David Findlay, M.B., Ch.B.,
Clive Holmes, Ph.D., Alan Hughes, M.B., Ch.B., Robin Jacoby, D.M.,
Rob Jones, M.B., Ch.B., Roy Jones, M.B., Ian McKeith, F.Med.Sc.,
Ajay Macharouthu, M.R.C.Psych., John O’Brien, D.M., Peter Passmore, M.D.,
Bart Sheehan, M.D., Edmund Juszczak, M.Sc., Cornelius Katona, M.D.,
Robert Hills, D.Phil., Martin Knapp, Ph.D., Clive Ballard, M.D., Richard Brown, Ph.D.,
Sube Banerjee, M.D., Caroline Onions, P.G.Dip., Mary Griffin, R.G.N.,
Jessica Adams, B.Sc., Richard Gray, M.Sc., Tony Johnson, Ph.D.,
Peter Bentham, M.B., Ch.B., and Patrick Phillips, Ph.D.

A bs t r ac t
Background

Clinical trials have shown the benefits of cholinesterase inhibitors for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. It is not known whether treatment benefits continue after the progression to moderate-to-severe disease.
Methods

We assigned 295 community-dwelling patients who had been treated with donepezil for at least 3 months and who had moderate or severe Alzheimer’s disease (a score of 5 to 13 on the Standardized Mini–Mental State Examination [SMMSE, on which scores range from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating better