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Galantamine in AD: A 6-month randomized, placebo-controlled trial with a 6-month extension. The Galantamine USA-1 Study Group
Raskind MA, Peskind ER, Wessel T, Yuan W.. Neurology, 2000-06-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Galantamine is a reversible, competitive cholinesterase inhibitor that also allosterically modulates nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. These mechanisms of action provided the rationale for a therapeutic trial of galantamine in AD. Methods A 6-month, multicenter, double-blind trial was undertaken in 636 patients with mild to moderate AD. Patients were randomly assigned to placebo or galantamine and escalated to maintenance doses of 24 or 32 mg/d. Eligible patients then entered a 6-month, open-label study of the 24 mg/d dose. Primary efficacy measures were the 11-item AD Assessment Scale cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog/11) and the Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Change plus Caregiver Input (CIBIC-plus). The Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD) scale was a secondary efficacy variable. Results Galantamine significantly improved cognitive function relative to placebo; the treatment effects were 3.9 points (lower dose) and 3.8 points (higher dose) on the ADAS-cog/11 scale at month 6 (p Conclusions Galantamine is effective and safe in AD. At 6 months, galantamine significantly improved cognition and global function. Moreover, cognitive and daily function were maintained for 12 months with the 24 mg/d dose.
Key findings
- Results Galantamine significantly improved cognitive function relative to placebo; the treatment effects were 3.9 points (lower dose) and 3.8 points (higher dose) on the ADAS-cog/11 scale at month 6 (p Conclusions Galantamine is effective and safe in AD.
- At 6 months, galantamine significantly improved cognition and global function.
Why it matters
In this 6-month trial, galantamine significantly improved cognitive function and global function compared with placebo in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, and cognitive and daily function were maintained for 12 months on the 24 mg/d dose. This is a symptomatic treatment for cognition and function, not a cure or prevention.
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Study details
- Study designopen-label trial
- Participants636
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 74/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 71 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 74 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2000 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 636 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 871 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 31.1 citations a year over 28 year(s) since 2000 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 45.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 29 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 42 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | University of Washington: institution h-index 3,540 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | PubMed indexes it as a multicentre study |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 10881250) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 71 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 71 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 74 out of 100. |
| Total | 74 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Raskind, M. A., Peskind, E. R., Wessel, T., & Yuan, W. (2000). Galantamine in AD: A 6-month randomized, placebo-controlled trial with a 6-month extension. The Galantamine USA-1 Study Group. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.54.12.2261
Vancouver
Raskind MA, Peskind ER, Wessel T, Yuan W. Galantamine in AD: A 6-month randomized, placebo-controlled trial with a 6-month extension. The Galantamine USA-1 Study Group. Neurology. 2000. doi:10.1212/wnl.54.12.2261. PMID: 10881250.
BibTeX
@article{raskind2000-10881250,
author = {Raskind, M. A. and Peskind, E. R. and Wessel, T. and Yuan, W.},
title = {{Galantamine in AD: A 6-month randomized, placebo-controlled trial with a 6-month extension. The Galantamine USA-1 Study Group}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2000},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.54.12.2261},
pmid = {10881250},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.54.12.2261}
}
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