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Nursing Home Placement Delayed With Donepezil Treatment

Geriatric Times

September/October 2001

Vol. II

Issue 5

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Study results presented at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry14th Annual Meeting showed that patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) who received continued doses of donepezil (Aricept) were able to delay nursing home placement. Patients who received at least 5 mg/day of donepezil for nine to 12 months had a 21-month delay to nursing home placement compared to patients who received either placebo or limited donepezil (less than 5 mg/day or at least 5 mg/day for less than 80% of the duration of the clinical trial).

The time to nursing home placement was analyzed for 671 patients with mild to moderate AD who had participated in earlier efficacy studies for donepezil. Caregivers were interviewed to obtain information on dates and reasons for nursing home placements of at least two weeks duration. Time estimates to nursing home placement took into account age, gender, severity of illness and possible use of other cholinesterase-inhibiting drugs after the initial efficacy trials.

Time to nursing home placement for patients who received an effective dose of donepezil for the full length of the trial was 66-months compared to 45 months for patients who received limited or no donepezil treatment--TB

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