Effect of donepezil and memantine on improvement of cognitive function in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment is a common complication of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of donepezil and memantine on improving the cognitive function of patients with TLE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a clinical trial study, 70 patients with TLE were divided into two groups of 35 each: 10 mg doses of donepezil (first group) and memantine (second group) were applied for 16 weeks. The level of cognitive function of patients in both groups before and after treatment was determined using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. RESULTS: The mean score of MoCA before and after intervention was 23.55 ± 3.67 and 26.09 ± 2.5, respectively, in the group treated with memantine, and the mean score of intervention was significantly improved (P < 0.001). In the group treated with donepezil, the score before and after the operation was 23.87 ± 3.18 and 24.35 ± 2.17, respectively, and no significant difference was observed in this group (P = 0.38). CONCLUSION: Hence, memantine was better than donepezil in the improvement of cognitive impairment in patients with TLE.