Donepezil HCl

Donepezil is a centrally acting reversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. Its main therapeutic use is in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease where it is used to increase levels of cortical acetylcholine. It has an oral bioavailability of 100% and easily crosses the blood-brain barrier. 

Excretion : 0,11-0,13 (l/h/kg)Half-life : 70 hours Protein binding : 96% Bioavailability : 100 (%) Mol. mass : 379.492 g/mol Formula : C24H29NO3 UNII : 8SSC91326P  KEGG D07869 ChemSpider : 3040  DrugBank : APRD00039 PubChem : CID 3152 ATC code : N06DA02 CAS number : 120014-06-4 Systematic (IUPAC) name : (RS)-2-[(1-benzyl-4-piperidyl)methyl]- 5,6-dimethoxy-2,3-dihydroinden-1-one 

Donepezil has also been studied in patients with mild cognitive impairment, schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder, post-coronary bypass cognitive impairment, cognitive impairment associated with multiple sclerosis, CADASIL syndrome, and Down syndrome.  Donepezil has been tested in other cognitive disorders (and is sometimes used off label) including Lewy body dementia and vascular dementia, but it is not currently approved for these indications. Donepezil has also been found to improve sleep apnea in Alzheimer's patients.

Donepezil is sometimes used in combination with memantine, a newer agent for Alzheimer's disease, as the response to both together is considered superior to donepezil alone. In moderate to severe Alzheimer's, a controlled clinical trial has shown that the addition of memantine to stable donepezil therapy improves cognition, functioning and behavior