Pharmacological Treatment of Dementia: A Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews

• Published in: Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders 2013-09, Vol.36 (3-4), p.211-228
• Main Authors: van de Glind, Esther M.M., van Enst, Wynanda A., van Munster, Barbara C., Olde Rikkert, Marcel G.M., Scheltens, Philip, Scholten, Rob J.P.M., Hooft, Lotty
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Cholinesterase Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Dementia; Dementia - drug therapy; Dementia - psychology; Dementia, Vascular - complications; Dementia, Vascular - drug therapy; Dementia, Vascular - psychology; Disease Progression; Dopamine Agents - therapeutic use; Early Medical Intervention; Humans; Medical sciences; Memantine - therapeutic use; Neurology; Nootropic Agents - therapeutic use; Parkinson Disease - complications; Parkinson Disease - drug therapy; Parkinson Disease - psychology; Publication Bias; Review Article; Systematic review; Systematic Reviews as Topic; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system
• ISSN: 1420-8008; 1421-9824
• DOI: 10.1159/000353892

Background: Until now, multiple reviews on the pharmacological treatment of dementia have been published. Methods: We performed a scoping review to summarize research findings and to identify gaps in the existing literature. We searched the literature and assessed the risk of bias of the included reviews. A team of clinical experts assessed the fields in which more research is necessary. Fifty-five reviews with a low risk of bias were included, most of them concerning the treatment of cognitive decline (n = 16) and behavioral symptoms (n = 10) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). For cognitive impairment, cholinesterase inhibitors (n = 13) and memantine (n = 7) were described most frequently. Little information was found about the treatment of depression in dementia. Conclusions: For many current treatments, there is sufficient evidence. New research should focus on the symptomatic treatment of the earliest and most salient complaints in AD as well as on disease-modifying interventions acting at the level of the amyloid cascade.