A survey of the consultative status of patients with Alzheimer disease and the efficacy and safety of donepezil treatment

Dantao Peng; Pulin YU

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A survey of the consultative status of patients with Alzheimer disease and the efficacy and safety of donepezil treatment

VernacularTitle:阿尔茨海默病患者就诊状况及多奈哌齐治疗效果的调查
Author: Dantao PENG ; Pulin YU
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Alzheimer disease; Donepezil; Data collection
From: Chinese Journal of Geriatrics 2010;29(8):691-693
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Objective To investigate the consultative status of patients with Alzheimer Disease (AD), and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of donepezil (Aricept) in the treatment of AD.Methods This survey was initiated by Chinese society of Geriatrics, and was sponsored by Eisai (China) Inc. It was conducted in 60 hospitals of 40 cities in China. The diagnosis of dementia was made according to ICD-10 and DSM-Ⅳ criteria. The cognition, behavior and ability of daily living of the patients were compared before and after 3-month treatment with donepezil. Results A total of 808 dementia patients were recruited. The main reasons for patients' seeing doctors included memory problem (n= 703, 87%), behavioral and psychological symptoms (n= 250, 31%), impairment of ability of daily living (n= 388, 48% ). The disease course was from 9 months to 16 months, and mean disease course was (13.0 ±0. 2) months. Patients mainly sought treatment from neurologist (74 % ),psychiatrist (6 % ) and geriatrics ( 19 %). They received dementia diagnosis at ( 14.4 ± 0.3) months after their dementia symptoms appeared. Treatment with donepezil for three months improved their cognition, ability of daily living and mental condtion (all P＜0.05). The main adverse effects were nausea, vomiting etc. Conclusions In China, the percentage of people with dementia seeking treatment is low. Most people with dementia see doctors when they reach moderate and severe stages,which affects the efficacy of treatment and daily activity of the patients. Treatment with donepezil for 3 months is effective in improving cognition, behavior and activity of daily living.