Role of Donepezil in the Management of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia with Lewy Bodies

• Published in: CNS neuroscience & therapeutics Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 159 - 166
• Main Authors: Cummings, Jeffrey, Lai, Te‐Jen, Hemrungrojn, Solaphat, Mohandas, E., Yun Kim, Sang, Nair, Girish, Dash, Amitabh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2016; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Aggressiveness; Alzheimer disease; Alzheimer Disease - complications; Alzheimer's disease; Antipsychotics; Anxiety; Appetite; Behavior; Behavioral symptoms; Caregivers; Cholinesterase inhibitors; Cholinesterase Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Cognition; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive enhancement; Cooperation; Dementia; Dementia disorders; Donepezil; Emotional behavior; Hallucinations; Humans; Indans - therapeutic use; Lewy bodies; Lewy Body Disease - complications; Mental disorders; Neurobiology; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurosciences; Pathology; Piperidines - therapeutic use; Psychosis; Psychotic Disorders - drug therapy; Psychotic Disorders - etiology; Psychotropic drugs; Review; Sexual behavior; Sleep; United States > US; Behavioral symptoms; Alzheimer disease; Cholinesterase inhibitors; Donepezil; Dementia
• ISSN: 1755-5930; 1755-5949
• DOI: 10.1111/cns.12484

Summary Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive condition that affects cognition, function, and behavior. Approximately 60–90% of patients with AD develop neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) such as hallucinations, delusions, agitation/aggression, dysphoria/depression, anxiety, irritability, disinhibition, euphoria, apathy, aberrant motor behavior, sleep disturbances, appetite and eating changes, or altered sexual behavior. These noncognitive behavior changes are thought to result from anatomical and biochemical changes within the brain, and have been linked, in part, to cholinergic deficiency. Cholinesterase inhibitors may reduce the emergence of NPS and have a role in their treatment. These agents may delay initiation of, or reduce the need for, other drugs such as antipsychotics. This article summarizes the effects of donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor, on the NPS of dementia with emphasis on AD and dementia with Lewy bodies.