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Effect of vitamin E and memantine on functional decline in Alzheimer disease: the TEAM-AD VA cooperative randomized trial
Dysken MW, Sano M, Asthana S, Vertrees JE, Pallaki M, Llorente M, Love S, Schellenberg GD et al.. JAMA, 2014-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Design, setting, and participants Double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial involving 613 patients with mild to moderate AD initiated in August 2007 and concluded in September 2012 at 14 Veterans Affairs medical centers. Results Data from 561 participants were analyzed (alpha tocopherol = 140, memantine = 142, combination = 139, placebo = 140), with 52 excluded because of a lack of any follow-up data. Over the mean (SD) follow-up of 2.27 (1.22) years, ADCS-ADL Inventory scores declined by 3.15 units (95% CI, 0.92 to 5.39; adjusted P = .03) less in the alpha tocopherol group compared with the placebo group. This change in the alpha tocopherol group translates into a delay in clinical progression of 19% per year compared with placebo or a delay of approximately 6.2 months over the follow-up period. All-cause mortality and safety analyses showed a difference only on the serious adverse event of "infections or infestations," with greater frequencies in the memantine (31 events in 23 participants) and combination groups (44 events in 31 participants) compared with placebo (13 events in 11 participants). Conclusions and relevance Among patients with mild to moderate AD, 2000 IU/d of alpha tocopherol compared with placebo resulted in slower functional decline. There were no significant differences in the groups receiving memantine alone or memantine plus alpha tocopherol. These findings suggest benefit of alpha tocopherol in mild to moderate AD by slowing functional decline and decreasing caregiver burden.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Dysken, M. W., Sano, M., Asthana, S., Vertrees, J. E., Pallaki, M., Llorente, M., et al. (2014). Effect of vitamin E and memantine on functional decline in Alzheimer disease: the TEAM-AD VA cooperative randomized trial. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.282834
Vancouver
Dysken MW, Sano M, Asthana S, Vertrees JE, Pallaki M, Llorente M, et al. Effect of vitamin E and memantine on functional decline in Alzheimer disease: the TEAM-AD VA cooperative randomized trial. JAMA. 2014. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.282834. PMID: 24381967.
BibTeX
@article{dysken2014-24381967,
author = {Dysken, M. W. and Sano, M. and Asthana, S. and Vertrees, J. E. and Pallaki, M. and Llorente, M. and Love, S. and Schellenberg, G. D. and others},
title = {{Effect of vitamin E and memantine on functional decline in Alzheimer disease: the TEAM-AD VA cooperative randomized trial}},
journal = {JAMA},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1001/jama.2013.282834},
pmid = {24381967},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.282834}
}
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Key findings
- Design, setting, and participants Double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial involving 613 patients with mild to moderate AD initiated in August 2007 and concluded in September 2012 at 14 Veterans Affairs medical centers.
- Results Data from 561 participants were analyzed (alpha tocopherol = 140, memantine = 142, combination = 139, placebo = 140), with 52 excluded because of a lack of any follow-up data.
- Over the mean (SD) follow-up of 2.27 (1.22) years, ADCS-ADL Inventory scores declined by 3.15 units (95% CI, 0.92 to 5.39; adjusted P = .03) less in the alpha tocopherol group compared with the placebo group.
- This change in the alpha tocopherol group translates into a delay in clinical progression of 19% per year compared with placebo or a delay of approximately 6.2 months over the follow-up period.
- All-cause mortality and safety analyses showed a difference only on the serious adverse event of "infections or infestations," with greater frequencies in the memantine (31 events in 23 participants) and combination groups (44 events in 31 participants) compared with placebo (13 events in 11 participants).
Why it matters
In this trial of 613 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease, 2000 IU/d of alpha tocopherol resulted in slower functional decline compared with placebo, translating into a delay in clinical progression of about 6.2 months over the follow-up. There were no significant differences in the groups receiving memantine alone or memantine plus alpha tocopherol.
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Study details
- Participants152
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 79/100
Published in a top-tier journal, and it is a randomized controlled trial. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 10 / 10 | Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (JAMA) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | JAMA: journal h-index 1,011 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomized controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 152 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomized / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomized and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 627 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 44.8 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 31.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 15 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 109 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Peter Guarino: h-index 26 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | University of Washington: institution h-index 3,540 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 24 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24381967) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 79 / 100 | — |
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