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A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Linopirdine in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Kenneth Rockwood ,
B. Lynn Beattie ,
M. Robin Eastwood ,
Howard Feldman ,
Erich Mohr ,
William Pryse-Phillips  and
Serge Gauthier
Kenneth Rockwood*
Affiliation:
Division of Geriatric Medicine and Department of Community Health & Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax
B. Lynn Beattie
Affiliation:
Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
M. Robin Eastwood
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry and Preventive Medicine & Biostatistics, University of Toronto, Toronto
Howard Feldman
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Erich Mohr
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa
William Pryse-Phillips
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's
Serge Gauthier
Affiliation:
McGill Centre for Studies on Aging, McGill University, Montreal
*
Centre for Health Care of the Elderly, Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, 5955 Jubilee Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2E1
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Abstract:

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Objectives:

We tested the efficacy and safety of linopirdine, a novel phenylindolinone, in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Methods:

A multicentre, randomized, double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled trial of linopirdine (30 mg three times per day or placebo). Patients (n = 382, 55% male, 98% Caucasian, age range 51-95 years) with mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease, of whom 375 received at least one treatment dose were analysed. There were no important differences between the groups at baseline.

Results:

No difference was seen in Clinical Global Impression scores between patients receiving placebo and those receiving linopirdine (n = 189). Small differences in the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog) scores were seen throughout the study favouring linopirdine; at 6 months the ADAS-Cog scores were 20.2 (linopirdine) and 22.1 (placebo) p = 0.01.

Conclusions:

This trial did not detect clinically meaningful differences in patients receiving linopirdine for 6 months, despite evidence of a small degree of improved cognitive function. Further studies may benefit from more sensitive tests of treatment effects in Alzheimer's disease.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , May 1997 , pp. 140 - 145
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1997

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