In this multi-center trial, 100 patients with
the diagnosis of senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT) of mild to
moderate severity were randomly divided into two treatment groups and,
following a placebo wash-out phase, were administered either pyritinol or
Hydergine for 12 weeks in a double-blind, randomized parallel
comparison. Two measures of cognitive functioning were employed to
assess treatment effects. The results indicated that treatment with
pyritinol was associated with a significant and continuous improvement in
cognitive functioning over the course of the study while treatment with
Hydergine was associated with a more modest improvement that tended to plateau
early in the treatment phase.