TY - JOUR
T1 - Donepezil 23 mg
T2 - An empty suit
AU - Knopman, David S.
PY - 2012/12
Y1 - 2012/12
N2 - Donepezil 10 mg/day has been a modestly successful therapeutic agent for the palliative treatment of Alzheimer disease dementia. In 2011, seeking greater efficacy and an extension of the Aricept brand, a 23-mg formulation of donepezil was introduced. A large-scale trial, organized by Eisai, the sponsor, failed to show superiority in their primary analyses of donepezil 23 mg/day in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer disease dementia vs 10 mg, but the published report used post hoc analyses to claim "statistically significant benefits." There was greater than a 3 times higher rate of gastrointestinal side effects with 23 mg of donepezil compared to 10 mg. Thus, not only does donepezil 23 mg/day increase the likelihood of unacceptable gastrointestinal side effects, it provides no clinical benefits. Aricept 23 mg is about 10 times more costly per pill than donepezil 10 mg.
AB - Donepezil 10 mg/day has been a modestly successful therapeutic agent for the palliative treatment of Alzheimer disease dementia. In 2011, seeking greater efficacy and an extension of the Aricept brand, a 23-mg formulation of donepezil was introduced. A large-scale trial, organized by Eisai, the sponsor, failed to show superiority in their primary analyses of donepezil 23 mg/day in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer disease dementia vs 10 mg, but the published report used post hoc analyses to claim "statistically significant benefits." There was greater than a 3 times higher rate of gastrointestinal side effects with 23 mg of donepezil compared to 10 mg. Thus, not only does donepezil 23 mg/day increase the likelihood of unacceptable gastrointestinal side effects, it provides no clinical benefits. Aricept 23 mg is about 10 times more costly per pill than donepezil 10 mg.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84875830811&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84875830811&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1212/CPJ.0b013e318278bebd
DO - 10.1212/CPJ.0b013e318278bebd
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84875830811
SN - 2163-0402
VL - 2
SP - 352
EP - 355
JO - Neurology: Clinical Practice
JF - Neurology: Clinical Practice
IS - 4
ER -