Address of Corresponding Author

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2005;20:15-24 (DOI: 10.1159/000085069)

  Key Words

• Alzheimer's disease
• Donepezil chloride
• Clock drawing test
• Therapeutic responsiveness
• Vascular risk factors
• Vascular lesions

  Abstract

The purpose was to identify vascular influences on the responsiveness to donepezil chloride. The study included 50 untreated probable Alzheimer's disease patients with the Modified Hachinski Ischemic Score <4. We assessed baseline cognitive status using the Revised Hasegawa Dementia Scale (HDS-R), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) and the clock drawing test (CDT). The response to 5 mg of donepezil was monitored by the CDT for 12 months. Patients were classified as true responders (TR), unchanged (UC) and non-responders according to changes on the CDT in response to treatment. High HDS-R scores, low CDT scores, low CDR and presence of hypertension (HBP) and periventricular hyperintensities (PVH) predicted a TR- or UC-type outcome. Aggravation of executive function by HBP and/or PVH and its improvement by donepezil may have been detected by the CDT.

Copyright © 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Dr. Toshiya Fukui
Department of Internal Medicine, Neurology
Showa University, Northern Yokohama Hospital, 35-1 Chigasaki-Chuo, Tsuzuki-ku
Yokohama 224-8503 (Japan)
Tel. +81 45 949 7845, Fax +81 45 949 7927, E-Mail tfukui@med.showa-u.ac.jp

  Article Information

Accepted: December 8, 2004
Published online: April 12, 2005
Number of Print Pages : 10
Number of Figures : 5, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 47