Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2003 , Vol 6, Issue 4
EFFIACY AND SAFETY OF DONEPEZIL AND RIVASTIGMINE IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Pervin K. İŞERİ, Hüsnü EFENDİ
Kocaeli Ãœniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Nöroloji Anabilim Dalı, Kocaeli In the last decade, the most important clinical success in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease were related with the cholinergic studies. The cholinergic agents that are effective on the improvement of the symptoms were mainly acetylcholine esterase inhibitors. Many data was collected in the correlative studies of these drugs in terms of the prognosis and clinical effectiveness. However, there are few comparative studies on the effects of rivastigmine and donepezil about slowing down the loss of cognitive and functional capabilities. In this particular study, our purpose was compare the cognitive and functional effects of these two drugs in clinical practice. Thus, clinical responses of donepezil and rivastigmine were observed in six months period. Cognitive functions and daily activities were evaluated with some tests.In conclusion, Rivestigmine was better in daily activities, whereas, donepezil had less side-effects. Keywords : Donepezil, Rivastigmine, Alzheimer’s disease