Background: Clinical trials have shown the benefits of cholinesterase inhibitors for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. It is not known whether treatment benefits continue after the progression to moderate-to-severe disease.; Methods: We assigned 295 community-dwelling patients who had been treated with donepezil for at least 3 months and who had moderate or severe Alzheimer’s […]
Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the commonest cause of dementia. Cholinesterase inhibitors, such as donepezil, are the drug class with the best evidence of efficacy, licensed for mild to moderate AD, while the glutamate antagonist memantine has been widely prescribed, often in the later stages of AD. Memantine is licensed for moderate to severe dementia […]
Background: Depression is a common and costly comorbidity in dementia. There are very few data on the cost-effectiveness of antidepressants for depression in dementia and their effects on carer outcomes.; Aims: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of sertraline and mirtazapine compared with placebo for depression in dementia.; Method: A pragmatic, multicentre, randomised placebo-controlled trial with a […]
Objectives: Dementia is a rapidly growing public health problem in low and middle income countries. There is an urgent need, in the absence of formal services, to develop interventions designed to improve the lives of people with dementia, and their families. This study tests the effectiveness of the 10/66 caregiver intervention among people with dementia, […]
Background: Depression is common in dementia but the evidence base for appropriate drug treatment is sparse and equivocal. We aimed to assess efficacy and safety of two of the most commonly prescribed drugs, sertraline and mirtazapine, compared with placebo.; Methods: We undertook the parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Health Technology Assessment Study of the Use of Antidepressants […]