Improving the safety of prescribing in dementia- Clinical validation of the AEC scale
Anticholinergic drugs can increase the risk of cognitive decline, dementia and death in older adults and their use should be limited in this group of patients where possible. The Anticholinergic Effect on Cognition (AEC) scale has been developed in order to rank drugs by the extent of their anticholinergic effects on cognition; and by clinically validating this tool, its use should improve the safety of prescribing in dementia and thus improve health outcomes for patients.