PA01.42. New alternative therapies in mild cognitive impairment

PURPOSE: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a frequent clinical entity, considered today to be a prodromal stage of Alzheimer's dementia, but not having until now a standardized pharmacological treatment. The aim of this study is to follow the outcome of the patients diagnosed with MCI non treated and treated with nootropics, alternative herbal agents, and cholinesterase inhibitors. METHOD: The study comprises a number of 200 patients (over 60 years) diagnosed with MCI. The patients were evaluated using MMSE (Mini Mental State Evaluation) at the inclusion into the study and after 1 year of treatment. The patients were divided in four different groups: Group A - 50 patients diagnosed with MCI treated with Piracetamum 1600mg/day, Group B - 50 patients diagnosed with MCI treated with Rhodiola rosea, 2 capsules/day, Group C - 50 patients diagnosed with MCI treated with Galantamine (16mg/day), Group D - 50 patients diagnosed with MCI non treated RESULT: The average of MMSE scores at screening was 23.96 points for group A, 24.16 points for group B, 23.96 for group C and 24.5 points for group D. After 1 year of treatment, cognitive performance improves with 2.12 points for Group A, 1.97 points for Group B, 2.04 points for Group C and without any improvement for Group D. CONCLUSION: Comparing the outcome of treated and non-treated groups, we observed that the early treatment of mild cognitive impairment delay the transition to dementia. The outcome of the treated groups after 1 year of pharmacological treatment was approximately the same. This study proves the necessity of early treatment and of the enlargement of therapies in mild cognitive impairment. The acceptance of nonconventional therapies can change the relationships between physicians and well educated patients who more frequently advocate for a broad range of treatment choices.