Source: CNS Drugs  |  Posted 8 years ago

Galantamine therapy given for a longer period, and/or initiated earlier, may provide an increase in cognitive benefits for patients with Alzheimer's disease, say researchers.

Galantamine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, has been shown in a 6-month study to provide cognitive benefits for patients with vascular dementia or Alzheimer's disease with cerebrovascular disease (Alz/cer). A study extension demonstrated that patients receiving galantamine for 12 months may benefit from long-term treatment.

Gary Small, MD, with the University of California, Los Angeles, United States, and colleagues performed a sub-analysis of the trial data to determine if long-term efficacy of galantamine is influenced by dementia type (vascular versus Alz/cer).

In the original study, patients (aged 40 to 90) were randomised to receive galantamine 24 mg/day (n=396) or placebo (n=196) for 6 months. Those who completed the trial were then eligible to enter a 6-month open-label phase during which all patients received galantamine 24 mg/day. Cognitive efficacy was assessed as changes in score on the 11-item Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog/11).

Patients with vascular dementia who received galantamine for the entire 12-month period showed significant improvement in cognition scores at study end compared with baseline (mean change, -2.1