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Huperzine A for vascular dementiaHao Z, Liu M, Liu Z, Lv D
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SummaryThere is no [convincing] evidence that Huperzine A is of value in vascular dementiaVascular dementia (VaD) refers to cognitive impairment associated with cerebrovascular brain injury. It influences a patient's quality of life seriously. However, there is no definitive medical or surgical treatment for vascular dementia. Huperzine A is one herbal medicine which is an alkaloid isolated from the Chinese herb Huperzia serrata. It has been authorised for treating AD and benign memory deficits since 1994 in China. The drug is available as a nutraceutical in the US. Huperzine A has been considered as a herbal medicine in clinical practice and used as a standard control intervention in clinical trials, but its efficacy and safety in vascular dementia are still uncertain. This review of one trial, involving 14 participants, showed no clear effect of Huperzine A for vascular dementia. Results from much larger randomized trials are needed to assess accurately the benefits and harms of Huperzine A in vascular dementia.
This is a Cochrane review abstract and plain language summary, prepared and maintained by The Cochrane Collaboration, currently published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010 Issue 1, Copyright © 2010 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.. The full text of the review is available in The Cochrane Library (ISSN 1464-780X).
This version first published online:
April 15. 2009 AbstractBackgroundHuperzine A, a form of herbal medicine, has been considered as an alternative treatment for vascular dementia (VaD) in China. ObjectivesTo assess the efficacy and safety of Huperzine A in patients with vascular dementia. Search strategyThe Specialized Register of the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group (CDCIG) was searched on 7 July 2008 using the terms: huperzi* OR ayapin OR scoparon*. The CDCIG Specialized Register contains records from all major health care databases (The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, LILACS) as well as from many trials databases and grey literature sources. The review authors searched the following databases in August 2008 using the terms 'Huperzine A', 'Shishanjianjia', 'Haboyin' and 'Shuangyiping': The Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) (1977 to August 2008); Chinese Science and Technique Journals Database (VIP) (1989 to August 2008); China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) (1979 to August 2008); The Chinese Clinical Trials Register (ChiCTR, August 2008); Google (August 2008). In addition, the review authors searched reference lists, relevant clinical trials and contacted researchers in an effort to identify further published and unpublished studies. Selection criteriaRandomized controlled trials comparing Huperzine A with placebo in patients with vascular dementia were considered eligible for inclusion. Data collection and analysisTwo review authors independently selected trials for inclusion, assessed trial quality, and extracted data. Main resultsOnly one small trial, involving 14 participants, was included. No significant beneficial effect of Huperzine A on the improvement of cognitive function measured by MMSE for VaD (WMD 2.40; 95% CI -4.78 to 9.58) was observed. No death from all causes at the end of treatment were reported. At present, other outcome measures were not available in any of the trials. Although no statistically significant differences were found between the Huperzine A-treated and control groups, the confidence intervals for the treatment effect estimates were wide and included both clinically significant benefits and clinically significant harms. Authors' conclusionsThere is no [convincing] evidence that Huperzine A is of value in vascular dementia based on one small trial. It deserves further research. |