Use of artificial networks in clinical trials:: A pilot study to predict responsiveness to donepezil in Alzheimer's disease

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the accuracy of artificial neural networks compared with discriminant analysis in classifying positive and negative response to the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil in a group of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. DESIGN: Convenience sample. SETTING: Patients with mild to moderate AD consecutively admitted to a geriatric day hospital and treated with donepezil 5 mg/day. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-one older patients of both sexes with AD. MEASUREMENTS: Accuracy in detecting subjects sensitive (responders) or not (nonresponders) to 3-month therapy with ANNs. The criterion standard for evaluation of efficacy was the scores of Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive portion and Clinician's Interview Based Impression of Change-plus scales. RESULTS: ANNs were more effective in discriminating between responders and nonresponders than other advanced statistical methods, particularly linear discriminant analysis. The total accuracy in predicting the outcome was 92.59%. CONCLUSIONS: ANNs appear to be a useful tool in detecting patient responsiveness to pharmacological treatment in AD.