Alzheimer’s disease drug donepezil demonstrates promising safety profile

By mdCurrent-India staff | Published: Apr 2012 Volume: .
Key Point: Donepezil’s cardiac safety profile appears promising in this small-scale, short-term study. If drugs with a similar mechanism of action that affect acetylcholine are prescribed in patients receiving this therapy, patients should be closely monitored for potential cardiac effects. However, these effects have not been significantly demonstrated in patients to date, and larger-scale, longer-term studies are needed to fully assess the cardiac safety profile of this agent.

Donepezil is a well-tolerated, first-line therapy for Alzheimer’s disease with a promising cardiac safety profile, a small study found recently.

India had 3.5 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD)/dementia in 2000, and that number is expected to continue to increase with 80-plus-year-olds having the fastest growth in population in India compared with other age groups.

“Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia among the elderly in India, closely followed by...

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This entry was posted in Geriatrics, Neurology, Pharmacology, Primary Care and tagged , , , , , , , . Volume: .

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