Clinical study of combined treatment with donepezil and nimodipine for vascular dementia of old patients

Objective To investigate the safety and the efficacy of combination of donepezil and nimodipine in treating old patients with mild and moderate vascular dementia (VaD).Methods Ninety-four old patients with VaD were randomly divided into 3 groups,mini-mental state examination (MMSE) ,activities of daily living(ADL),clinical dementia rating scale and clock drawing test of 3 groups were assessed and compared before treatment and 3,6 months after treatment. Results After treating for 3 months,the score of MMSE(21.7± 3.8) and ADL(43.8±4.8) were obviously improved in the group of combination treatment than those in the groups only treated with donepezil(MMSE:18.2 ±3.7,ADL:45.9 ± 4.4,or nimodipine (MMSE:18.1 ± 3.3,ADL: 46.8 ± 5.5,P 0.05),especially after treating for 6 months,there was significant difference in the 4 scores between the three groups (P 0.05).Only mild and transient adverse events were observed.Conclusion Combination treatment with donepezil and nimodipine is safe and can markedly ameliorate the cognitive function and behavioral abilities and activity of daily living as compared with trearment with single donepezil or nimodipine in old patients with VaD.