Nootropic treatment and combined therapy in age-associated memory impairment

Summary le-blind randomized trial was performed involving 162 patients with age-associated memory impairment (AAMI) selected and followed by their general practitioners. Selection was based upon the criteria adopted by the National Institute of Mental Health Work Group and applied to persons over 50 years of age who have experienced the onset of memory loss after early adulthood, but who are neither demented nor depressed. Two intervention methods, a drug and a cognitive therapy in combination, were assessed. The main purpose of the cinical trial was to compare the efficacy of memory training programs (MTP), when combined with a nootropic drug (Piracetam) at two different doses (2.4 and 4.8 g/day) and when given to a group receiving a placebo medication. Therefore, 3 randomized parallel groups, of 54 patients each, were followed for 3 months. After a placebo wash-out period of 10 days, one group began receiving 2.4 g/day of drug treatment, the second group 4.8 g/day and the third a placebo. The 90-minute MTP sessions were conducted once a week at the University Geriatric Center, in Grenoble, France, for groups of 8 to 10 participants. To determine the best therapeutic sequence, we randomly subdivided each main group into two subgroups, one of which started the 6-week MTP immediately and the second began the training 6 weeks later. A total of 135 patients, 45 in each group, completed the study. Combined therapy was most effective in patients whose baseline performance on memory tests was the lowest. The best results were observed with 4.8 g/day, especially when training sessions began after 6 weeks of drug treatment. This result was confirmed by the principal investigator global assessment. Finally, and most importantly, this study shows that the patients with AAMI whom general practitioners routinely encounter in their practices can improve memory performance through combined intervention methods.