Drug treatments for Alzheimer's disease. I. A comparative analysis of clinical trials

Wolfson C, Moride Y, Perrault A, Momoli F, Demers L, Oremus M
Record ID 32000000835
English, French
Authors' objectives: This report has three main objectives: 1. To assess the evidence for the clinical efficacy of individual therapies for AD. 2. To compare the clinical efficacy of individual therapies for AD. 3. To review, in a companion report, the reliability and validity data on all primary and secondary outcome measures used in the trials selected in Objective 1.
Authors' recommendations: This review concludes that for selegiline, vitamin E, lecithin, linopirdine, and propentofylline the published data do not provide support for efficacy. Donepezil, metrifonate and rivastigmine, however, all provide statistically significant modest benefit on cognitive performance and global functioning to the elderly with probable AD who are eligible for inclusion in clinical trials. The magnitude of the effect is similar for all of the medications. The results from the trials of gingko biloba are promising but the effects are smaller than those from the above mentioned therapies. Although all of these medications appear to be well tolerated, in terms of the occurrence of adverse events, dropout rates are sometimes high and may have resulted in overestimation of apparent treatment effects.
Authors' methods: Overview
Details
Project Status: Completed
URL for project: https://www.ccohta.ca/
Year Published: 2000
URL for published report: n/a
English language abstract: An English language summary is available
Publication Type: Not Assigned
Country: Canada
MeSH Terms
  • Alzheimer Disease
  • Neuroprotective Agents
  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors
  • Ginkgo biloba
  • Donepezil
  • Rivastigmine
Contact
Organisation Name: Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment
Contact Address: 600-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1S 5S8 Canada. Tel: +1 613 226 2553, Fax: +1 613 226 5392;
Contact Name: requests@cadth.ca
Contact Email: requests@cadth.ca
Copyright: Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.