Donepezil: New Hope for Brain Injury Patients and Their Caregivers?

Traumatic brain injuries pose more than the obvious issues for you and your caregivers. As you know, serious concerns include short- and/or long-term memory loss, behavioral change, agitation and, perhaps most disturbingly, depression.

Not only does this affect your ability to function and return to your previous occupation, it can wreak havoc for those who love you most. While there are no drugs accepted for use in treating traumatic brain injuries, a study was conducted in Canada in 1999. Using Donepezil, a drug typically used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, seemed promising because it affects the area of the brain associated with memory function.

Results suggest the drug may offer positive changes for both memory function and behavior. The study was small; only four patients were treated who suffered injuries due to car accidents. Donepezil was administered in increasing doses for 12 weeks and tests were given to measure short- and long-term memory capacities and behavior.

The exciting news is: improvement was shown in both areas. While it’s recognized that such a small study can’t be fully reliable, it still suggests that future studies should be conducted and Donepezil might have an important application outside the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

It might also offer a new, exciting treatment for traumatic brain injuries. And that’s good news for you and your caregivers.

For further information: “Open-label study of donepezil in traumatic brain injury,” C. Masanic, MD; M. Bayley, MD; R. VanReekum, MD; M. Simard, PhD, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, volume 82, issue 7, P.896-901, July 2001.