A case report on the use of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (donepezil) in traumatic brain injury

Traumatic Brain injury (TBI) is one of the most common causes of death and disability worldwide, with recent interest in the use of cholinomimetics in the treatment of TBI patients for cognitive impairments. Our patient who suffered TBI was started on a trial of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (Donepezil) for five weeks. Cognitive and memory testing with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Functional Independence Measurement (FIM) showed some degree of improvement: The three item recall component of MMSE improved and the FIM Memory score increased from 1 (Complete dependence) to 6 (Functional independence). Subjective assessment of his behaviour in the ward also showed improvement. This suggests that donepezil may help improve memory and behaviour of moderately severe traumatic brain injury patients, although more research in this direction should be undertaken.