Author(s)

Jingxuan Guo, Yuyao Zhu

Corresponding Author

Jingxuan Guo

ABSTRACT

To investigate the effects of donepezil and galantamine on the levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), ceruloplasmin (CER), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and miR-132 in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods A total of 128 patients with mild to moderate AD admitted to our hospital from February 2019 to February 2021 were selected as the study subjects. According to the random number table method, they were divided into donepezil group (65 cases) and galantamine group (63 cases), and received donepezil and galantamine treatment, respectively, for 3 months. Before and after treatment, the cognitive function and symptoms of patients were assessed by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's disease assessment scale (ADAS-cog), the AD Subscale-Activities of Daily Living Scale (ADCS-ADL) and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). The levels of ET-1, CGRP, CER, BDNF and miR-132 were determined to evaluate the safety of the treatment. Results ① After treatment, MMSE score in both groups increased, ADAS-cog score and NPI score decreased (P<0.05), and there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). ② After treatment, the serum ET levels in both groups decreased, while the levels of CGRP, CER, BDNF and miR-132 increased (P<0.05). The levels of BDNF and miR-132 in donepezil group were higher than those in galantamine group (P<0.05). ③ The overall incidence of adverse reactions in donepezil group and galantamine group was 16.92% and 15.87%, with no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion Donepezil and galantamine have good efficacy and safety in the treatment of mild to moderate AD, but donepezil may have some advantages in improving neurotrophic molecules.

KEYWORDS

Alzheimer's disease, Donepezil, Galantamine, Serum markers