The effect of Aricept in persons with persistent memory disorder following traumatic brain injury: a pilot study

Primary objective : To investigate the effectiveness of donepezil hydrochloride (Aricept®) in treating persistent memory deficits in people with traumatic brain injury. Research design : Single subject ABAC design was used so that each participant could serve as their own control. Methods and procedures : Seven TBI survivors with persistent memory dysfunction, at least 1.5 years post-injury, underwent two 6-month trials of Aricept®. The following tests were used to assess memory and cognition: Brief Visual Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R), Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, Digit Span and Letter Number Sequence sub-test of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III, Controlled Oral Word Association Test and Memory Functioning Questionnaire. Experimental intervention : During the first treatment phase, participants received 5 mg/day of Aricept® for 1 month, increasing to 10 mg/day of Aricept® for an additional 5 months. During the second treatment phase, participants received 5 mg/day of Aricept® for the entire 6 months. Main outcomes and results : A repeated measures analysis of variance indicated significant improvement on immediate and delayed memory portions of the BVMT-R when taking 10 mg/day of Aricept®. Conclusions : Findings contribute to the growing body of research into the use of Aricept® in treating memory deficits in TBI survivors and support the need for further research.