Effect of long-term treatment with galantamine on weight of patients with Alzheimer's dementia

Abstract

Weight loss in AD patients should not be attributed to long-term treatment with galantamine. This is in accordance with the French guideline. If AD patients are losing weight, other causes, including insufficient care, should be investigated.

Assessing the nutritional status of older individuals in family practice: Evaluation and implications for management

“…As recently shown by applying the MNA to an Iranian rural population, the risk of severe depression in patients with malnutrition was 15.5 times higher than in non-depressed persons [23]. In agreement with the observation of Droogsma et al [24] who reported that Alzheimer patients at risk of malnutrition are more impaired in basic and complex daily functioning than those well-nourished, our data confirm the higher rate of complications (i.e. pressure sores, respiratory infections, …) in malnourished patients with dementia.…”

Weight Loss in Patients with Dementia: Considering the Potential Impact of Pharmacotherapy

“…Since the market approval of AChEIs, the association between AChEI treatment and BW loss has been investigated. One group observed a 23% risk of BW loss in individuals with dementia taking AChEIs [109], while others concluded AChEI treatment is protective against BW loss seen in dementia [110] (however, the latter study lacked a control group). Crucially, in a meta-analysis of 25 clinical AChEI trials and others, an increased risk of BW loss was observed for every AChEI [111, 112].…”

Weight loss and undernutrition in community-dwelling patients with Alzheimer’s dementia

“…The long-term effects of the ChEI galantamine on weight of community-dwelling AD patients were investigated. The results of this study showed that long-term treatment with galantamine had no effect on the weight of AD patients [7]. Weight loss in AD patients should therefore not be attributed to long-term treatment with galantamine.…”

“…In the study on the prevalence of undernutrition and its relation to various factors in community-dwelling elderly with newly diagnosed AD, it was shown that the degree of impairment in daily functioning is independently related to nutritional status [8]. In addition, it was shown that community-dwelling AD patients without an informal caregiver or partner had a lower average weight compared to patients with an informal caregiver or partner [7]. Therefore, if AD patients develop a poor nutritional status, it is important to establish whether care is sufficient and if necessary that appropriate care is arranged, for example starting meals at home services or supervision of meal intake.…”