Donepezil instructions for administration

Instructions for administration
Mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease Severe Alzheimer's Disease Other instructions
 * 10 mg additional benefit
 * Dose escalation

Mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease
The dosages of Aricept® shown to be effective in controlled clinical trials are 5 mg and 10 mg administered once per day. Return to top

10 mg additional benefit
The higher dose of 10 mg did not provide a statistically significantly greater clinical benefit than 5 mg. There is a suggestion, however, based upon order of group mean scores and dose trend analyses of data from these clinical trials, that a daily dose of 10 mg of Aricept® might provide additional benefit for some patients. Accordingly, whether or not to employ a dose of 10 mg is a matter of prescriber and patient preference. Return to top

Severe Alzheimer's Disease
Aricept® has been shown to be effective in controlled clinical trials at a dose of 10 mg administered once daily. Return to top

Dose escalation
Evidence from the controlled trials in mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease indicates that the 10 mg dose, with a one week titration, is likely to be associated with a higher incidence of cholinergic adverse events than the 5 mg dose. In open label trials using a 6 week titration, the frequency of these same adverse events was similar between the 5 mg and 10 mg dose groups. Therefore, because steady state is not achieved for 15 days and because the incidence of untoward effects may be influenced by the rate of dose escalation, a dose of 10 mg should not be achieved until patients have been on a daily dose of 5 mg for 4 to 6 weeks. Return to top

Other instructions
Aricept® should be taken in the evening, just prior to retiring. Aricept® can be taken with or without food. Allow Aricept® ODT tablet to dissolve on the tongue and follow with water. Return to top