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The effect of Aricept in persons with persistent memory disorder following traumatic brain injury: a pilot study
Clare E Morey1, Mark Cilo, James Berry
1Craig Hospital, Englewood, Colorado 80110, USA. cmorey@craighospital.org
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.