Table 2.
Studies of Alzheimer’s disease medications in patients with frontotemporal dementia.
| Study (year) | Subjects | Study design | Findings | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donepezil | ||||
| Lampl et al. (2004) | Nine bvFTD (five randomized to donepezil, four to rivastigmine) | Open-label, 6 months, uncontrolled | Of the five donepezil-treated patients, three improved on MMSE and clock-drawing, and two improved on SPECT | [36] |
| Mendez et al. (2007) | 24 bvFTD (12 treated, 12 untreated controls, not randomized) | Open-label, 6 months, matched controls | Worsened disinhibition and compulsiveness in four of the 12 donepezil-treated patients compared with their own baseline; returned to baseline after discontinuation of treatment | [42] |
| Galantamine | ||||
| Kertesz et al. (2008) | 17 bvFTD, 22 PPA (not separated by subtype) | 18-week open-label galantamine treatment phase, followed by 8-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled withdrawal | No change in any cognitive or behavioral end point | [39] |
| Rivastigmine | ||||
| Lampl et al. (2004) | Nine bvFTD (five randomized to donepezil, four to rivastigmine) | Open-label, 6 months, uncontrolled | Of the four rivastigmine-treated patients, three improved on MMSE and clock-drawing, and one improved on SPECT | [36] |
| Moretti et al. (2004) | 40 bvFTD (20 treated, 20 matched controls) | Open-label, 12 months, matched controls | Improved scores on multiple behavioral assessments and on caregiver stress | [37] |
| Memantine | ||||
| Diehl-Schmid et al. (2008) | 16 bvFTD | Open-label, 6 months, uncontrolled | No improvement on any behavioral or cognitive end point | [58] |
| Boxer et al. (2009) | 21 bvFTD, 13 SD, nine PNFA | Open-label, 6 months, uncontrolled | Transient improvement on NPI in bvFTD patients, but no improvement on any other behavioral or cognitive end point | [59] |
| NCT00545974 | – | Phase IV, 26-week randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled | Study in progress | [101] |
| NCT00200538 | – | Phase II, 52-week, randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled | Study in progress | [101] |
bvFTD: Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia; MMSE: Mini-Mental State Examination; PNFA: Progressive nonfluent aphasia; PPA: Primary progressive aphasia; NPI: Neuropsychiatric Inventory; SD: Semantic dementia.