Vitamin E and Donepezil for the Treatment of Mild Cognitive Impairment

In this randomized trial involving patients with mild cognitive impairment, vitamin E did not reduce the rate of progression to Alzheimer's disease. Although an initial benefit of donepezil was observed during the first year, over the course of the three-year study the rate of progression to Alzheimer's disease was similar in patients treated with donepezil and those treated with placebo. The side effects of donepezil included diarrhea, nausea, muscle cramps, and insomnia. In patients with mild cognitive impairment, vitamin E did not reduce the rate of progression to Alzheimer's disease. Over the course of the three-year study the rate of progression to Alzheimer's disease was similar in patients treated with donepezil and those treated with placebo. Mild cognitive impairment represents a transitional state between the cognitive changes of normal aging and the earliest clinical features of Alzheimer's disease. 1 Amnestic mild cognitive impairment refers to the subtype that has a primary memory component, either alone (single domain) or in conjunction with other cognitive-domain impairments (multiple domain), but of insufficient severity to constitute dementia. 2 – 6 Previous research has shown that the rate of progression to clinically diagnosable Alzheimer's disease is 10 to 15 percent per year among persons who meet the criteria for the amnestic form of mild cognitive impairment, in contrast to a rate of 1 to . . .