@article {176,
	title = {Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled donepezil augmentation in antidepressant-treated elderly patients with depression and cognitive impairment: a pilot study.},
	journal = {Int J Geriatr Psychiatry},
	volume = {23},
	year = {2008},
	month = {2008 Jul},
	pages = {670-6},
	abstract = {OBJECTIVE: To assess combined antidepressant and cognitive enhancer treatment in elderly patients presenting with depression plus cognitive impairment.

METHODS: Twenty-three elderly (>50 years old) depressed, cognitively impaired (DEP-CI) patients participated in a pilot study. We evaluated whether, after 8 weeks of open antidepressant treatment, donepezil HCl (Aricept) would afford added cognitive benefit compared to placebo in a randomized 12-week trial. A subsample continued in an 8-month extension phase of open treatment with donepezil. Neuropsychological testing (NPT) was performed and antidepressant response monitored at baseline and the 8, 20, and 52-week time points.

RESULTS: At 8-weeks, the antidepressant response rate was 61\% (14/23). Improvement in SRT immediate recall (SRT-IR; e.g. episodic verbal memory) was observed in responders compared to non-responders. During the 12-week, placebo-controlled, donepezil add-on trial, patients on donepezil showed further improvement in SRT-IR versus patients on placebo. In the open extension phase, patients who continued open donepezil treatment (n = 6) maintained improvement in memory and tended to show an advantage over patients who never received donepezil and were evaluated at the 52-week time point (n = 6). There were no observed significant donepezil effects on non-memory cognitive domains.

CONCLUSION: These preliminary findings suggest that addition of a cholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) following antidepressant medication treatment in elderly Dep-CI patients may improve cognition, and support the need for a confirmatory, larger randomized placebo-controlled trial.},
	keywords = {Aged, Antidepressive Agents, Cholinesterase Inhibitors, Cognition Disorders, Depressive Disorder, Epidemiologic Methods, Female, Humans, Indans, Male, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Nootropic Agents, Piperidines, Sertraline, Treatment Outcome},
	issn = {0885-6230},
	doi = {10.1002/gps.1958},
	author = {Pelton, Gregory H and Harper, Oliver L and Tabert, Matthias H and Sackeim, Harold A and Scarmeas, Nikolaos and Roose, Steven P and Devanand, D P}
}
