Donepezil demonstrates success throughout the AD continuum

According to two studies presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) [San Diego, California, US; April 2006], donepezil [Aricept] is effective in severe Alzheimer's disease (AD), thereby providing benefits to patients throughout the disease continuum. A randomised, double-blind, multinational, 24-week study showed that, compared with placebo, donepezil was associated with significant benefits in cognition and global function, with significant improvements in Severe Impairment Battery (SIB) total scores, and on the Clinician's Interview Based Impression of Change (CIBIC-Plus). A second study confirmed the benefits of donepezil in severe Alzheimer's disease; donepezil-treated patients demonstrated significantly greater improvements over placebo recipients in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores and Clinical Global Impressions of Improvement (CGI-I) scores.