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Piracetam for dementia or cognitive impairment
Flicker L, Grimley Evans G.. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2001-01-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Selection criteria All unconfounded trials specified as randomized in which treatment with piracetam was administered for more than a day and compared with placebo in patients with dementia of Alzheimer type, vascular dementia,or mixed vascular and Alzheimer's disease, or unclassified dementia, or cognitive impairment not fulfilling the criteria for dementia. Main results Unfortunately, many of the studies were of cross-over design and first-phase data were unavailable, or could not be extracted. Global Impression of Change was the only outcoeme for which there was a significant volume of evidence from the pooled data. There was evidence of heterogeneity in the results from the individual studies, chi-square test = 20.8 (df=5). Using a fixed effects model the odds ratio for improvement in the piracetam group compared with the placebo group was 3.55, [95% CI][2.45, 5.16].
Key findings
- Selection criteria All unconfounded trials specified as randomized in which treatment with piracetam was administered for more than a day and compared with placebo in patients with dementia of Alzheimer type, vascular dementia,or mixed vascular and Alzheimer's disease, or unclassified dementia, or cognitive impairment not fulfilling the criteria for dementia.
- Main results Unfortunately, many of the studies were of cross-over design and first-phase data were unavailable, or could not be extracted.
- Global Impression of Change was the only outcoeme for which there was a significant volume of evidence from the pooled data.
- There was evidence of heterogeneity in the results from the individual studies, chi-square test = 20.8 (df=5).
- Using a fixed effects model the odds ratio for improvement in the piracetam group compared with the placebo group was 3.55, [95% CI][2.45, 5.16].
Why it matters
Pooled data from randomized trials found that people taking piracetam were more likely to be rated as improved on a global impression of change than those taking placebo. However, many of the studies could not be fully analyzed because of their design, and the results varied between studies.
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Study details
- Study designrandomized controlled trial
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 64/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 41 of the 64 points we could judge it on, which is 64 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Cochrane database of systematic reviews) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A systematic review of all the studies on the question (from PubMed type “Systematic Review”) |
| 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 | 2001 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (OpenAlex dates this DOI to 2003, the record says 2001; OpenAlex values not used) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 7 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11405971) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 41 / 64 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 41 of the 64 points we could judge it on is 64 out of 100. |
| Total | 64 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
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
Flicker, L., & Grimley Evans, G. (2001). Piracetam for dementia or cognitive impairment. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd001011
Vancouver
Flicker L, Grimley Evans G. Piracetam for dementia or cognitive impairment. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2001. doi:10.1002/14651858.cd001011. PMID: 11405971.
BibTeX
@article{flicker2001-11405971,
author = {Flicker, L. and Grimley Evans, G.},
title = {{Piracetam for dementia or cognitive impairment}},
journal = {The Cochrane database of systematic reviews},
year = {2001},
doi = {10.1002/14651858.cd001011},
pmid = {11405971},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd001011}
}
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