In a study of 974 patients who suffered from dementia related to heart disease, researchers said 11 deaths occurred among patients taking Aricept, the most popular drug prescribed to treat Alzheimer’s disease, according to the New York Times. No deaths occurred among patients taking placebos. The study was conducted by Eisai, a Japanese pharmaceutical maker which sells Aricept.

The study is raising concern among officials at the FDA and some disease experts, especially as Aricept’s benefits are considered mild at best by some physicians. Aricept, which acts in a similar nature as the drugs Reminyl, Exelon and Tacrine, is not recommended by many physicians because the drug does not seem to delay the onset of disability from Alzheimer’s, nor the need for nursing home care. At the same time, Aricept is known to slow the heart and constrict respiratory passage ways, increasing the patient’s risk of heart attack and heart disease.

Aricept is also sold by Pfizer, which reported $346 million in Aricept sales last year. Eisai dismissed its study. Judee Shuler, a company spokesperson, said that patients given placebos in the study were particularly and unusually healthy, making a comparison with the Aricept group unfair.

Source: Gardiner Harris, “Study of Alzheimer’s Drug Revives Questions on Risk,” New York Times,” March 17, 2006.