Valis_2023_Biomed.Pharmacother_159_114223

BACKGROUND: The acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil is administered as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the appropriate donepezil dosage is still a matter of debate. METHODS: Forty AD patients receiving 10smg/day of donepezil were randomly divided into four groups based on the time of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sampling: 6sh (n = 5), 12sh (n = 12), 18sh (n = 6) and 24sh (n = 17) after donepezil administration. High-performance liquid chromatography measured the donepezil concentration in plasma samples and CSF samples collected at 4-time points. RESULTS: Plasma and CSF levels among the groups were not significantly different. Conversely, the CSF/plasma donepezil concentration ratio considerably increased in the 24sh group compared to the 6sh (ps<s0.005) and 12sh (ps<s0.05) groups. CONCLUSION: The measurement of the CSF/plasma donepezil concentration ratio could be used to better evaluate the optimal dose of donepezil.