Abstract: ObjectiveTo assess the clinical efficacy and safety of donepezil in treating the mild to moderate cognitive impairment of vascular dementia.Methods60 patients with vascular dementia were randomly divided into therapy group (donepezil 5 mg/d for 4 weeks, and then increased to 10 mg/d) and control group (piracetan 800 mg,3/d). All patients were assessed with Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Revised in China (WAIS-RC), Activities of daily living (ADL), and Clinical Global Impression (CGI), before and 12 weeks after treatment. ResultsMMSE scores improved significantly in both groups after the treatment. The therapy group produced significantly better scores than the control groups on the MMSE(P<0.05). WAIS-RC scores improved significantly in the therapy groups(P<0.01), but there was no significant difference for control groups(P>0.05), before and after treatment. Severity Improvement(SI) score of ADL and CGI in the both groups decreased. The total efficiencies of donepezil and piracetan groups were 86% and 56% respectively. There was no significant difference in adverse effects between two groups. ConclusionDonepezil can improve the cognitive function of patients with vascular dementia, which seems better than that of piracetan, and it is fairly safe for vascular dementia patients to take donepezil 10 mg a day.

Key words: vascular dementia, donepezil hydrochloride, piracetan