Observational study on safety, tolerability and effectiveness of galantamine in patients with mild to moderately severe Alzheimer's disease

Introduction. Several controlled clinical trials have demonstrated safety, tolerability, and efficacy of galantamine in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We present an observational and multicenter study carried out in Spain. Its main objective was the assessment of the safety and tolerability of galantamine in the treatment of mild to moderately severe dementia of the Alzheimer type under real clinical conditions. Methods. The study had five visits over a 6-month period. Titration of galantamine was performed on a standard basis. All the adverse events (AE) reported were recorded. Serious AE were particularly considered. Effectiveness was also assessed covering cognitive, functional, behavioral and sleep domains. Results. 723 patients were enrolled but 74 were excluded, a sample of 649 (71 % women and 29 % men) remaining. A total of 56.3 % patients completed all visits. Baseline Mini-Mental mean score was 19,4 (SD: 4,7). Up to 400 AEs were collected from 29.3 % of the patients. The commonest AEs were: nausea (9.7 %), vomiting (7.1 %), dizziness (4.6 %), and diarrhea (4.5 %). Mini-Mental scores were stable over time and favorable and significant differences in behavioral and sleep evaluations were observed. Conclusions. Galantamine is a safe and well-tolerated treatment, and provides cognitive, functional, and behavioral benefits in patients with mild to moderately severe AD.