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Practice parameter: management of dementia (an evidence-based review) [RETIRED]. Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology
Doody RS, Stevens JC, Beck C, Dubinsky RM, Kaye JA, Gwyther L, Mohs RC, Thal LJ et al.. Neurology, 2001-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To define and investigate key issues in the management of dementia and to make literature-based treatment recommendations. Methods The authors searched the literature for four clinical questions: 1) Does pharmacotherapy for cognitive symptoms improve outcomes in patients with dementia? 2) Does pharmacotherapy for noncognitive symptoms improve outcomes in patients with dementia? 3) Do educational interventions improve outcomes in patients and/or caregivers? 4) Do other nonpharmacologic interventions improve outcomes in patients and/or caregivers? Results Cholinesterase inhibitors benefit patients with AD (Standard), although the average benefit appears small; vitamin E likely delays the time to clinical worsening (Guideline); selegiline, other antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and estrogen require further study. Antipsychotics are effective for agitation or psychosis in patients with dementia where environmental manipulation fails (Standard), and antidepressants are effective in depressed patients with dementia (Guideline). Educational programs should be offered to family caregivers to improve caregiver satisfaction and to delay the time to nursing home placement (Guideline). Staff of long-term care facilities should also be educated about AD to minimize the unnecessary use of antipsychotic medications (Guideline). Behavior modification, scheduled toileting, and prompted voiding reduce urinary incontinence (Standard). Functional independence can be increased by graded assistance, skills practice, and positive reinforcement (Guideline).
Key findings
- Results Cholinesterase inhibitors benefit patients with AD (Standard), although the average benefit appears small; vitamin E likely delays the time to clinical worsening (Guideline); selegiline, other antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and estrogen require further study.
Why it matters
This retired 2001 American Academy of Neurology guideline, a literature review and not a trial, made recommendations for managing dementia. It judged that cholinesterase inhibitors benefit people with Alzheimer's "although the average benefit appears small", that vitamin E "likely delays the time to clinical worsening", and that antipsychotics help agitation or psychosis only "where environmental manipulation fails". For families, it recommended that education programmes be offered to caregivers "to improve caregiver satisfaction and to delay the time to nursing home placement". Because it is retired, it is a historical reference, not current treatment advice.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| 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 | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 | 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 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 1,723 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 63.8 citations a year over 27 year(s) since 2001 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 63.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 94 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 35 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Jeffrey L. Cummings: h-index 175 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, Los Angeles: institution h-index 1,923 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 9 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11342679) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Doody, R. S., Stevens, J. C., Beck, C., Dubinsky, R. M., Kaye, J. A., Gwyther, L., et al. (2001). Practice parameter: management of dementia (an evidence-based review) [RETIRED]. Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.56.9.1154
Vancouver
Doody RS, Stevens JC, Beck C, Dubinsky RM, Kaye JA, Gwyther L, et al. Practice parameter: management of dementia (an evidence-based review) [RETIRED]. Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology. 2001. doi:10.1212/wnl.56.9.1154. PMID: 11342679.
BibTeX
@article{doody2001-11342679,
author = {Doody, R. S. and Stevens, J. C. and Beck, C. and Dubinsky, R. M. and Kaye, J. A. and Gwyther, L. and Mohs, R. C. and Thal, L. J. and others},
title = {{Practice parameter: management of dementia (an evidence-based review) [RETIRED]. Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2001},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.56.9.1154},
pmid = {11342679},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.56.9.1154}
}
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