Trial reportThe American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry2018
Donepezil Treatment in Patients With Depression and Cognitive Impairment on Stable Antidepressant Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 25 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Pilot Combination Treatment Trial of Mild Cognitive Impairment With Depression
Factors Influencing the Deterioration From Cognitive Decline of Normal Aging to Dementia Among Nursing Home Residents
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Predicting Response to Pro-Cognitive Interventions in Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review by the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Targeting Cognition Task Force.Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica · 2026Pooled it
- The efficacy and safety of anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody versus acetylcholinesterase inhibitor with an in-depth analysis across genotypes and disease stages: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of 5 and 10 mg donepezil in improving cognitive function in patients with dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Sigma-1-targeting multimodal compound HBK-15 reverses memory deficits and restores hippocampal plasticity under NMDA hypofunction.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026Article
- Clinical Effectiveness of Treatments for Mild Cognitive Impairment in Adults: A Systematic Review.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025Review
- Recent Advances in Donepezil Delivery Systems via the Nose-to-Brain Pathway.Pharmaceutics · 2025Review
- Advancing depression treatment: the role of sigma receptor ligands.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Late-onset major depressive disorder: exploring the therapeutic potential of enhancing cerebral brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression through targeted microRNA delivery.Translational psychiatry · 2024Review
- Factors associated with cognitive function in patient with Alzheimer's disease with newly prescribed acetylcholinesterase inhibitors: A 1-year retrospective cohort study.Aging medicine (Milton (N.S.W)) · 2024Article
- Frameworks for estimating causal effects in observational settings: comparing confounder adjustment and instrumental variables.BMC medical research methodology · 2023Review
- Nanomedicine strategies for central nervous system (CNS) diseases.Frontiers in biomaterials science · 2023Article
- Serum alkaline phosphatase was independently associated with depression in patients with cerebrovascular disease.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Pharmacological targeting of cognitive impairment in depression: recent developments and challenges in human clinical research.Translational psychiatry · 2022Review
- Chromone derivatives suppress neuroinflammation and improve mitochondrial function in the sporadic form of Alzheimer's disease under experimental conditions.Iranian journal of basic medical sciences · 2022Article
- Mechanisms of Cognitive Impairment in Depression. May Probiotics Help?Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Review
- Models of depressive pseudoamnestic disorder.Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.) · 2022Article
- Efficacy of Donepezil Hydrochloride plus Olanzapine for Senile Dementia and Its Effect on the Recovery of Cognitive Function.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022Article
- Cortical thickness predicts remission of depression with antidepressants in patients with late-life depression and cognitive impairment.Journal of affective disorders · 2021Article
- Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors in the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Role of Acetylcholinesterase in their Pathogenesis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Depression in Alzheimer's Disease: A Delphi Consensus on Etiology, Risk Factors, and Clinical Management.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveDepression and cognitive impairment are often comorbid in older adults, but optimal treatment strategies remain unclear. In a two-site study, the efficacy and safety of add-on donepezil versus placebo were compared in depressed patients with cognitive impairment receiving stable antidepressant treatment.
methodsA randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in older adults with depression and cognitive impairment (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01658228; NCT01658228). Patients received open-label antidepressant treatment for 16 weeks, initially with citalopram and then with venlafaxine, if needed, followed by random assignment to add-on donepezil 5-10 mg daily or placebo for another 62 weeks. Outcome measures were neuropsychological test performance (Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale [ADAS-Cog] and Selective Reminding Test [SRT] total immediate recall) and instrumental activities of daily living (Functional Activities Questionnaire).
resultsOf 81 patients who signed informed consent, 79 patients completed the baseline evaluation. Open antidepressant treatment was associated with improvement in depression in 63.93% responders by week 16. In the randomized trial, there were no treatment group differences between donepezil and placebo on dementia conversion rates, ADAS-Cog, SRT total immediate recall, or FAQ. Neither baseline cognitive impairment severity nor apolipoprotein E e4 genotype influenced donepezil efficacy. Donepezil was associated with more adverse effects than placebo.
conclusionThe results do not support adjunctive off-label cholinesterase inhibitor treatment in patients with depression and cognitive impairment. The findings highlight the need to prioritize discovery of novel treatments for this highly prevalent population with comorbid illnesses.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.