[Cerebrolysin in the preventive therapy of dementia in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment: a three-year prospective comparative study].

Objective: To study the efficacy and safety of long-term (3 years) course Cerebrolysin therapy in an open comparative study as a means potentially capable of slowing or preventing the transition of MCI into dementia, as well as to analyze the possibility of Cerebrolysin preventive effect predicting based on clinical and biological parameters.
Material and Methods: In total, 100 patients with aMCI were included in the study, randomly assigned to 2 groups: patients of group 1 ( n =50) received annual course therapy with Cerebrolysin for 3 years (20 intravenous infusions of Cerebrolysin 20 ml in 100 ml of saline solution for 4 weeks). Group 2 patients underwent annual clinical examination, but did not receive therapy. All patients were monitored on an outpatient basis and were examined once a year. Clinical and psychopathological, psychometric, immunological, catamnestic, molecular genetic, and statistical methods were used.
Results: A comparative three-year prospective study conducted in a group of aMCI patients treated with annual course therapy with Cerebrolysin and those who did not receive therapy showed a lower progression of cognitive deficits and a significantly lower conversion rate to dementia in patients who received annual courses for 3 years Cerebrolysin therapy compared with the comparison group.
Conclusion: The data obtained indicate the presence of a disease-modifying effect in the annual course of Cerebrolysin and the possibility of using this drug in programs of dementia preventive therapy in people with a high risk of cognitive deficits progression and the dementia development in elderly patients with aMCI.