Dementia treatment hope

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Steven Powers MD.

 

Sunday, April 14, 2002 8:00 AM

Dementia treatment hope

 

 

http://www.emedicine.com/cgi-bin/foxweb.exe/newsitem@d:/em/ga?name=84643

 

Medical and Science News

Dementia treatment hope

LONDON

 

By health-newswire.com reporters

 

Alzheimer's patients with cerebrovascular damage and individuals with probable

vascular dementia could benefit from the drug galantamine, according to Finnish

research published this week in The Lancet.

 

Studies have previously indicated that galantamine improves symptoms of

Alzheimer's disease, but its impact on Alzheimer's combined with cerebrovascular

damage and on cases of possible vascular dementia has not been clarified to

date.

 

Dr Timo Erkinjuntti and colleagues from Helsinki University Central Hospital

investigated the effects of the drug compared to placebo on about 600 patients.

Cognition, overall functioning, behaviour and ability to carry out activities of

daily living were the primary outcomes measured. Caregivers were involved in the

assessment of functional changes during treatment.

 

Patients who received the active agent showed significant improvement in

cognition (1.7 points on the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's disease

assessment scale) compared to those who received placebo, whose score fell by

one point on average over the six-month period.

 

Global functioning as assessed by doctors and caregivers was stable in 74 per

cent of the galantamine group compared to 59 per cent of the placebo group. The

secondary measures of behavioural change and daily living activities also showed

improvement in the former group.

 

The researchers concluded that the drug is an effective therapeutic option for a

broad range of patients with dementia, offering significant benefits to

sufferers.

 

Dr Richard Harvey, director of research at the Alzheimer's Society, commented,

" Disease in blood vessels supplying the brain is an important cause of dementia

in its own right as well as a significant risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. "

 

He said that, until the publication of this new study, drug treatments such as

this had only been available to people with Alzheimer's disease, and even then

with restricted availability in the UK.

 

" This new data further supports the evidence that these treatments have benefits

to a much wider group of people with dementia. "

 

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is due to review the range of

drug treatments available for dementia on the NHS next year.

 

Reference: Erkinjuntti et al, The Lancet 2002;359:1283-1290

 

© Health Media Ltd 2002

 

http://www.health-news.co.uk

 

 

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S. Powers MD.

 

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