Cerebrolysin in Vascular Dementia: Improvement of Clinical Outcome in a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Multicenter Trial

No drug to treat vascular dementia (VaD) has yet been approved by the American or European authorities, leaving a large population of patients without effective therapy. Cerebrolysin has a long record of safety and might be efficacious in this condition. We conducted a large, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 242 patients meeting the criteria for VaD. The primary endpoint was the combined outcome of cognition (based on Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale Cognitive Subpart, Extended Version [ADAS-cog+] score) and overall clinical functioning (based on Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Change plus Caregiver Input [CIBIC+] score) assessed after 24 weeks of treatment. Intravenous Cerebrolysin 20 mL was administered once daily over the course of 2 treatment cycles as add-on therapy to basic treatment with acetylsalicylic acid. The addition of Cerebrolysin was associated with significant improvement in both primary parameters. At week 24, ADAS-cog+ score improved by 10.6 points in the Cerebrolysin group, compared with 4.4 points in the placebo group (least squares mean difference, −6.17; P < .0001 vs placebo). CIBIC+ showed a mean improvement of 2.84 in the treatment arm and 3.68 in the placebo arm, a treatment difference of 0.84 (P < .0001 vs placebo). These findings were confirmed by responder analyses demonstrating higher rates in the Cerebrolysin group (ADAS-cog+ improvement of ≥4 points from baseline, 82.1% vs 52.2%; CIBIC+ score of <4 at week 24, 75.3% vs 37.4%; combined response in ADAS-cog+ and CIBIC+, 67.5% vs 27.0%). For Cerebrolysin, the odds ratio for achieving a favorable CIBIC+ response was 5.08 (P < .05), and that for achieving a favorable combined response was 5.63 (P < .05). Our data indicate that the addition of Cerebrolysin significantly improved clinical outcome, and that the benefits persisted for at least 24 weeks. Cerebrolysin was safe and well tolerated.