KMID : 1009020150130020174
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Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience 2015 Volume.13 No. 2 p.174 ~ p.179
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Comparison of the Effects of a Brand-name Drug and Its Generic Drug on the Quality of Life of Alzheimer¡¯s Disease Patients
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Mikio Sakakibara
Mitsuhiko Kido Jun Kuribayashi Hiroshi Okada Ataru Igarashi Hiroyuki Kamei Toshitaka Nabeshima
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Abstract
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Objective : The pharmacological effects of generic (GE) donepezil are the same as Aricept, its brand-name counterpart. However, little is known as to whether these two drugs provide the same quality of life (QOL). The study subjects were patients with Alzheimer¡¯s disease who were taking donepezil hydrochloride tablets, and were selected by visiting either the local pharmacies or the patients¡¯ homes. We chose the brand-name drug Aricept and its GE form donepezil to investigate, from a long-term caregiver¡¯s perspective, the influence of both drugs on the patients¡¯ QOL.
Methods : An EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) was used to assess the QOL of patients with Alzheimer¡¯s disease, before and after various Aricept and/or donepezil regimens. Patients were divided into four groups: first time users of Aricept (n=43), first time users of GE donepezil (n=45), users refilling previous prescriptions of Aricept (n=51), and users switching from Aricept to GE donepezil (n=51).
Results : The average change in the EQ-5D utility indices rose significantly in the patients starting a new regimen of Aricept and its GE drug. The patients continuing an existing regimen of Aricept showed no significant differences, even after Aricept was switched to a GE drug.
Conclusion : The QOL of patients starting a new regimen of Aricept and its GE drug improved. The QOL was maintained upon switching to the GE drug form.
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KEYWORD
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Choline acetyltransferase, Single nucleotide polymorphism, Alzheimer disease, DonepezilAlzheimer disease, Donepezil hydrochloride, Generic drugs, Quality of life, EuroQol-5 Dimension
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