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Donepezil and the Risk of Falls in Seniors With Cognitive Impairment

NCT00934531 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 60

Last updated 2019-01-07

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Compared with cognitively normal older adults, those with mild cognitive problems (MCI) have a two-fold higher rate of falls, sustain more fractures, and have a higher rate of mortality due to falls. Why older adults with cognitive problems fall more frequently is not completely understood. What is known, however, is that attention is a necessary cognitive resource for normal walking and impairments in attention are associated with increased risk of falls in older adults.

It has been suggested that cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI), medications used for treatment of dementia, may improve motor function and walking (gait performance). Since ChEI are known to improve attention, we hypothesized that ChEI will reduce falls risk in people with MCI by improving their gait velocity, improving their balance, and reducing their gait variability; a well-established risk factor for falls.

In the proposed study, we will evaluate the effect of donepezil (ChEI) on gait velocity, gait variability, and the balance on 140 elderly individuals with MCI (70 intervention and 70 controls). Gait variables will be measured using an electronic walkway, and balance confidence using a validated scale (Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale; ABC) over four months.

By characterizing and understanding the effects of cognitive enhancers on fall risk in older adults with cognitive impairments, we will be able to pave the way for a new approach to fall prevention in this population. We would establish that medications that augment cognitive function could be a complementary therapeutic option for reducing fall risk in people with MCI. This may lead to new approaches to prevent and treat fall risk in this population, which will lead to improve the autonomy and quality of life of seniors in early stage of dementia, and a decreased burden for the Ontario health care system.

Conditions

  • Falls
  • Gait
  • Balance
  • Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)

Interventions

DRUG

Donepezil

Participants with MCI will be randomized to either the experimental (donepezil) or placebo arm of the study. Experimental Arm: Participants with MCI will receive 5 mg/day of donepezil p.o. for 4 weeks, and thereafter 10 mg/day of donepezil p.o. for a period of 5 months, yielding a total period of intervention of 6 months from baseline. Placebo Arm: Participants with MCI will receive a matched placebo p.o. for 4 weeks, and thereafter will receive a new matched placebo p.o. for the next 5 months, yielding a total period of intervention of 6 months from baseline.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Manuel Montero Odasso, MD, PhD · The University of Western Ontario, Dept. of Medicine, Div. of Geriatric Medicine

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
65 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2009-09-30
Primary Completion
2019-01-31
Completion
2019-01-31

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00934531 on ClinicalTrials.gov