A London-based study has found a drug commonly used to treat Alzheimer’s disease increases a patient's chances of being hospitalized from a painful muscle breakdown.
Researchers at Western University's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry and Lawson Health Research Institute examined the effects of the drug Donepezil in 220,353 patients age 66 or older between 2002 and 2017. The drug is used to improve symptoms of dementia and is a leading treatment for Alzheimer's patients with more than two million prescriptions dispensed in Canada in 2013.
However, the study found those who took Donepezil were two times more likely to be hospitalized for rhabdomyolysis, a serious condition that can result in kidney disease.
“The relative risk was small but statistically significant, and most hospital admissions were not severe,” said Lawson Scientist and ICES Western Site Director Dr. Amit Garg. “However, patients who are taking donepezil should not be alarmed, as reassuringly, the chance of being hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis after starting donepezil remains very low.”
Garg added that doctors who encounter a patient exhibiting symptoms of rhabdomyolysis should look for Donepezil on their medication list. Meanwhile, patients who are on Donepezil who start to develop new muscle aches should speak to their doctor about it.
“If a patient is tolerating the drug and has no difficulties in the first 30 days, and they remain on the same dose, the chance they will develop rhabdomyolysis in the future would be expected to be quite low,” said Garg. "It is important that patients and their families not stop their prescription medications without speaking to their doctor."
The study called "Risk of rhabdomyolysis with donepezil compared with rivastigmine or galantamine: a population-based cohort study" was recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.