Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Sep;88(3):335-8.
doi: 10.1038/clpt.2010.98. Epub 2010 Jul 21.

The effect of donepezil treatment on cardiovascular mortality

K Sato  1 , R Urbano, C Yu, F Yamasaki, T Sato, J Jordan, D Robertson, A Diedrich
Affiliations

The effect of donepezil treatment on cardiovascular mortality

K Sato et al. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2010 Sep.

Erratum in

  • Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2010 Nov;88(5):725

Abstract

The acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil hydrochloride improves cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Given acetylcholine's important actions on the heart, we undertook a retrospective cohort investigation to assess whether donepezil usage affects cardiovascular mortality. In patients treated with donepezil, hazard ratios for total and cardiovascular mortality were 0.68 (P = 0.045, 95% confidence interval 0.46-0.99) and 0.54 (P = 0.042, 95% confidence interval 0.30-0.98), respectively. The apparent survival benefit in donepezil-treated patients should not be overinterpreted. Prospective clinical trials are warranted.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Kaplan–Meier survival curves for (a) all fatal events and (b) cardiovascular deaths. DPZ, donepezil.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Feldman H, Gauthier S, Hecker J, Vellas B, Subbiah P, Whalen E. A 24-week, randomized, double-blind study of donepezil in moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. Neurology. 2001;57:613–620. - PubMed
    1. Black S, et al. Efficacy and tolerability of donepezil in vascular dementia: positive results of a 24-week, multicenter, international, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Stroke. 2003;34:2323–2330. - PubMed
    1. Kistler PM, et al. Electrophysiologic and electroanatomic changes in the human atrium associated with age. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2004;44:109–116. - PubMed
    1. Jones SA, Boyett MR, Lancaster MK. Declining into failure: the age-dependent loss of the L-type calcium channel within the sinoatrial node. Circulation. 2007;115:1183–1190. - PubMed
    1. Jones SA, Lancaster MK, Boyett MR. Ageing-related changes of connexins and conduction within the sinoatrial node. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 2004;560:429–437. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms