Donepezil, nursing home placement and Alzheimer’s Disease

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Caroline Struthers reports on the findings of a follow-up paper of the DOMINO-AD trial, which compares Donepezil and Memantine for Moderate to Severe Alzheimer’s Disease, and looks at the effects these two drugs have on nursing home placement.

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Medication in advanced dementia: how can we judge what is appropriate?

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Caroline Struthers appraises a recent US cross-sectional study of the use of medications of “questionable benefit” in nursing home residents with advanced dementia. She concludes that all medications are of questionable value if they have side effects which might have a negative impact on quality of life or are likely to cause harm.

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What should we prescribe for neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease?

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Psychiatrist Andrés Fonseca considers how his clinical practice should change, after reading a systematic review and meta-analysis of drug treatment for neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease

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Memantine is not an effective treatment for dementia in people with Down’s syndrome, according to new RCT

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People with Down’s syndrome are more likely to develop dementia than others and one in three will have the illness as early as in their 50s. Despite this high prevalence, there is very little reliable research about drug treatments for this population. This small randomised controlled trial (funded by the drug company Lundbeck) aimed to [read the full story…]

Memantine may reduce fractures and cholinesterase inhibitors may increase syncope in dementia: new systematic review

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Last week I blogged about a study that showed how some dementia drugs may help reduce the progression of the disease and delay admission to care homes for people with the condition. This new systematic review carried out by a research team from Harvard Medical School investigates the potential side effects of two dementia drugs: [read the full story…]