Treatment effects between monotherapy of donepezil versus combination with memantine for Alzheimer disease: A meta-analysis

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 8; p. e0183586
• Main Authors: Chen, Ruey, Chan, Pi-Tuan, Chu, Hsin, Lin, Yu-Cih, Chang, Pi-Chen, Chen, Chien-Yu, Chou, Kuei-Ru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 21.08.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Alzheimer Disease - drug therapy; Alzheimer's disease; Analysis; Anesthesiology; Care and treatment; Clinical trials; Cognitive ability; Complications and side effects; Dementia; Dementia disorders; Donepezil; Dosage and administration; Drug dosages; Drug therapy; Drug Therapy, Combination; Humans; Incidence; Indans - administration & dosage; Indans - therapeutic use; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Memantine; Memantine - administration & dosage; Memantine - therapeutic use; Meta-analysis; Neurodegenerative diseases; Nootropic Agents - administration & dosage; Nootropic Agents - therapeutic use; Patients; Physical Sciences; Piperidines - administration & dosage; Piperidines - therapeutic use; Research and Analysis Methods; Side effects; Studies; Titration; Taiwan
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183586

This is the first meta-analysis to compare the treatment effects and safety of administering donepezil alone versus a combination of memantine and donepezil to treat patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer Disease, particularly regarding cognitive functions, behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia (BPSD), and global functions. PubMed, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases were used to search for English and non-English articles for inclusion in the meta-analysis to evaluate the effect size and incidence of adverse drug reactions of different treatments. Compared with patients who received donepezil alone, those who received donepezil in combination with memantine exhibited limited improvements in cognitive functions (g = 0.378, p < .001), BPSD (g = -0.878, p < .001) and global functions (g = -0.585, p = .004). Gradual titration of memantine plus a fixed dose and gradual titration of donepezil as well as a fixed dose and gradual titration of memantine resulted in limited improvements in cognitive functions(g = 0.371, p = .005), BPSD(g = -0.913, p = .001), and global functions(g = -0.371, p = .001). Both in the 24th week and at the final evaluation point, the combination of donepezil and memantine led to greater improvement in cognitive functions, BPSD, and global functions than did donepezil alone in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer Disease.