ARICEPT 5 mg film coated tablets are white, round, biconvex tablets marked ‘ARICEPT’ on one side and ‘5’ on the other side contains 5mg of donepezil hydrochloride.

Indications:

- It is used to treat the symptoms of dementia in people diagnosed as having mild and moderately severe Alzheimer’s disease.

- The symptoms include increasing memory loss, confusion and behavioral changes. As a result, sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease find it more and more difficult to carry out their normal daily activities.

Dosage and administration:

- Initially, the recommended dose is 5 mg (one white tablet) every night before you go to bed. After one month, your doctor may tell you to take 10 mg (one yellow tablet) every night before you go to bed.

- The tablet strength you will take may change depending on the length of time you have been taking the medicine and on what your doctor         recommends

- If you forget to take your medicine, take the next dose at the usual time. Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten tablet.

- If you forget to take your medicine for more than one week, call your doctor before taking any more medicine

Contraindication:

Aricept is contraindicated in patient with hypersensitivity to donepezil hydrochloride, or to piperidine derivatives.

General precautions:

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking ARICEPT if you have:

- Stomach or duodenal ulcers

- Seizures (fits) or convulsions

- A heart condition (irregular or very slow heart beat)

- Asthma or other long term lung disease

- Liver problems or hepatitis

- Difficulty passing urine or mild kidney disease

Side effects:

- Very common side effects (may affect more than 1 in 10 people):

Diarrhea & headache

- Common side effects (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):

Muscle cramp , tiredness , difficulty in sleeping (insomnia) ,the common cold , hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not really there) , unusual dreams including nightmares , agitation , aggressive behavior , fainting , dizziness , stomach feeling uncomfortable , rash , passing urine uncontrollably , pain ,accidents (patients may be more prone to falls and accidental injury) .

- Uncommon side effects (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):

- Slow heart beat

- Salivary hyper secretion.

- Rare side effects (may affect up to 1 in 1000 people):

Stiffness, shaking or uncontrollable movement especially of the face and tongue but also of the limbs

Pregnancy and lactation:

If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking any medicine.

ARICEPT should not be used while breast-feeding.

Storage conditions:

- Do not store this medicine above 30°C.

Caution:

- Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.

- Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the outer carton and blister or bottle (EXP). -The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.

Available strengths

- It is available in two strength

          Aricept 5mg 28 tab.

          Aricept 10mg 28 tab.