Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders  2015;14(1):31-38

doi:10.12779/dnd.2015.14.1.31

Factors Influencing Skin Tolerability to the Rivastigmine Patch in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease.

Hae Ri NA 1 ; Moon Ho PARK ; Sangyun KIM ; Dong Won YANG ; Seong Hye CHOI ; Hyun Duk YANG ; Youngsoon YANG ; Hyun Jeong HAN ; Jung Seok LEE ; Young Chul YOON ; Seong Ho KOH ; Jung Eun KIM ; Bon D KU ; Hee Jin KIM ; Kyung Won PARK ; Eun Joo KIM ; Bora YOON ; Key Jung PARK

Affiliations

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Keywords

rivastigmine transdermal patch; Alzheimer's disease; tolerability

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The one-day rivastigmine patch is reportedly well tolerated and has minimal side effects. However, Asian patients show more side effects than those in Western countries. We evaluated tolerability of the rivastigmine patch in South Korean patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the specific factors affecting adverse events of the skin. METHODS: A 6-month, open labeled, multi-centered, observational study was carried out in 440 patients with probable AD from July 2009 to September 2010 (NCT01312363). RESULTS: A total of 25.9% of the patients experienced adverse skin events at the rivastigmine patch application site and 17.0% discontinued treatment due to adverse events at the skin application site. The most common adverse events were itching and erythema. Patients with an allergic history and users of electric heating appliances reported skin discomfort. Older age was associated with discontinuing treatment. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the rivastigmine patch induced some adverse skin events and may contribute to understanding and improving skin tolerability to the rivastigmine patch.