Efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine kidney-nourishing formula for Alzheimer's disease in comparison with donepezil: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Main Authors: Fei-Zhou Li, Yi-Ni Zhang, Tong Zhang, Ling Liu, Ping Wang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hong Kong Gold Orchid Science and Technology Co., Limited 2020-09-01
• Series: Traditional Medicine Research
• Subjects: alzheimer's disease
• Online Access: https://www.tmrjournals.com/plus/view.php?aid=1524

Objective: Finding an effective therapy against Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been associate increasingly pressing issue and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is widespread in the prevention and treatment of AD in China. The aim of this study was to judge the efficaciousness and safety of TCM kidney-nourishing (the changes of pathological state of kidney deficiency by means of TCM treatment and so on) formula (TKNF) for AD in comparison with donepezil. Methods: The retrieval period of seven databases was from the establishment of each database to April 2019. Two authors independently identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs), fetched data and assessed bias risk. Comprehensive analysis process was conducted with review manager for eligible and appropriate RCTs. Results: A complete of 981 AD patients from 13 studies were enclosed. Meta-analysis of RCTs showed that there was no significant difference in the improvement of Alzheimer's disease assessment scale-cognitive subscale score between 2 groups in short term, but the effect of long-term treatment may exceed donepezil; there was a significant difference in the improvement of activities of daily living score between 2 groups; there was a significant difference in TCM curative efficacy between 2 groups with long-term treatment. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between 2 groups. The quality of the evidence was high or moderate. Conclusion: Compared with donepezil, TKNF was an effective drug for AD patients and the clinical application of TKNF was safe. TKNF's long-term benefits need more evidence to verify.