Use of Alternative Medicine in Patients With Dementia and Mild Cognitive Dysfunction

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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So far, no drugs have shown to stop or delay the pathological processes of dementia. Available pharmacological treatment includes a small number of drugs; cholinesterase inhibitors like donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine, and the NMDA receptor antagonist memantine, all of which only affect the symptoms of the disease. At the same time, alternative medicines like herbal products and dietary supplements are often intensively marketed with the assertion of curative or alleviating effects on dementia. The documentation of clinical effects, side effects and the potential for interaction with prescribed drugs are, however, generally scarce. The aims of this study are to make a survey of the use of alternative medicine in patients with dementia and mild cognitive dysfunction attending the investigators out-patient dementia clinic, and to assess the interaction potential with the patient's other medications.

Detailed Description
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Patients: All patients with a diagnosis of dementia under follow-up at the out-patient clinic are invited to participate, if giving a written consent. Method: a semi-structured interview is undertaken by the doctor at the end of the consultation. Patients and their company are asked to name their alternative medicines (if any), for how long the products have been used, where and how they learned about the products, ant to tell about their experiences with the products (i.e if they have noticed effects or side-effects). After the consultation information of the the actual product's contents and properties are obtained and an assessment of possible interactions with the patient's other drugs (prescriptions and self-reported use of over-the-counter drugs) is made. Reported effects or side-effects are registered.

Official Title
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Use of Alternative Medicine Among Patients With Dementia and Mild Cognitive Dysfunction

Conditions
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Dementia, Cognitive Impairment

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: diagnosed with dementia
Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Number of patients taking alternative medicines | The patient's use of alternative medicine(s) on a given point of time (the consultation date) as reported by the patient or by the next of kin who is the patient's companion during the consultation. The results will be presented as the number of patients taking alternative medicines | Up to 2 years | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Numbers of potential and clinical relevant interactions | Assessment of the potential of interactions between the patient's alternative medicines and prescribed or over-the-counter drugs in use at the date of the consultation. The assessment will be based on data from litterature reports. Results will be presented as numbers of potential and clinical relevant interactions. | Up to 2 years | 
| The patient's subjective experiences with alternative medicines | In the interview the patients will be asked to tell if they have experienced positive, negative, or no effects related to their use of alternative medicines. Results will be presented as number of patients. | up to 2 years | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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herbal drugs, dietary supplements, drug interactions