Alzheimer Disease | NWHSU Digital Collections

Article: Diagnosis and treatment of clinical Alzheimer's-type dementia: a systematic review

Description

Article co-written by Northwestern Health Sciences University researcher Mary L. Forte. The article was prepared by the Minnesota Evidence-based Practice Center and was prepared for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The article was made available online by the National Library of Medicine and the National Center for Biotechnology Information in 2020.

URL

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556556/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK556556.pdf

Abstract

Objective. To summarize evidence on: (1) the accuracy of brief cognitive tests for identifying clinical Alzheimer’s-type dementia (CATD) in individuals with suspected cognitive impairment; (2) the accuracy of biomarkers for identifying Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in individuals with dementia; and (3) the benefits and harms of prescription drugs and supplements for cognition, function, and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in patients with CATD.

Article: Benefits and harms of prescription drugs and supplements for treatment of clinical Alzheimer-type dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Description

The article was co-authored by Northwestern Health Sciences University researcher Mary L. Forte. The article was published in Annals of Internal Medicine and was published in 2020.

Abstract

Purpose: To summarize evidence on the effects of prescription drugs and supplements for CATD treatment.

Conclusion: Cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine slightly reduced short-term cognitive decline, and cholinesterase inhibitors slightly reduced reported functional decline, but differences versus placebo were of uncertain clinical importance. Evidence was mostly insufficient on drug treatment of BPSD and on supplements for all outcomes.