Effect of donepezil combined with memantine in ameliorating the cognitive function and psychological behavior of patients with Alzheimers'disease

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of donepezil combined with memantine in ameliorating the cognitive function and psychological behavior of patients with Alzheimers'disease(AD). Methods 214 AD patients were randomly divided into the control groupand observation group.The control group were treated with memantine,and the observation group were treated donepezil combined with memantine.Before and after treatment,MMSE and WHOUCLA AVLT,BEHAVE-AD were utilized to assess the cognitive function,psychological behavior,respectively.The adverse effects were observed using TESSand laboratory examination. Results The scores of MMSE and its subitem, WHO-UCLA AVLT(Immediate memory,short-term memory and long-term memory)after treatment significantly increased as compared with those before treatment in the control group and the observation group(P<0.01 or P<0.05),while the cases of psychological behavior,the score of BEHAVE-AD and its subitem decreased(P<0.01 or P<0.05).The observation group showed statistically significant difference in the increasion of the scores of MMSE and its subitem,WHO-UCLA AVLT,and the decreasion of the cases of psychological behavior,the score of BEHAVE-AD and its subitem comparison with the control group(t=-1.742,-1.431,-1.626,-2.173,-1.448,-1.026,-1.016,-1.279,-1.971,χ2=12.295,7.609,8.917,t=0.778,1.139,2.004,1.153,0.822,1.944,P<0.01 or P<0.05).The total effective rate of the observation group was 90.65%,and 71.96%of the control group,there was a significant difference between the two groups(χ2=12.299,P<0.01).There was no obvious side effects during the treatment in both groups. Conclusion Donepezil combined with memantine can significantly improve the cognitive function and psychological behavior of AD patients,and there are fewer adverse events. Key words: Alzheimers'disease; Donepezil; Memantine; Cognitive