A 24-week, randomized, controlled trial of rivastigmine patch 13.3 mg/24 h versus 4.6 mg/24 h in severe Alzheimer's dementia.

"Conflict of Interest This article has not been previously published, nor is it under consideration for publication elsewhere. Martin Farlow has served as a paid consultant for Accera, Alltech, Astellas, Avanir, Bayer, Biogen, Bristol‐Myers Squibb, Eisai Medical Research, GE Healthcare, Grifols, Helicon, INC Research, Medavante, Medivation Inc., Merck and Co. Inc., Novartis Pharma, Pfizer, Prana Biotech, QR Pharma, Sanofi Aventis Groupe, Schering‐Plough, Eli Lilly, Shire Pharmaceuticals, and Toyama; is a paid speaker for Eisai, Forest, Novartis, Eli Lilly and Pfizer; and receives research support from Accera, Biogen, Eisai, Eli Lilly and Co., Genentech, Navidea, Novartis Pharma, and Roche. George Grossberg has served as a consultant for Accera, Baxter Bioscience, Forest Labs, Lundbeck, Novartis, Otsuka, and Takeda; has received research support from Accera, Baxter, Elan, Forest, Janssen, NIH, Novartis, Noven, and Pfizer; and serves on a safety monitoring board for Merck. Carl Sadowsky has served on advisory boards for Novartis, Accera and Lilly, and speakers' bureau for Novartis, Accera, Lilly and Pamlab. Xiangyi Meng and Monique Somogyi are full‐time employees and stock holders of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA."

"This study was funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA. Medical writing and editorial assistance in the development of this manuscript were provided by Katy Cooke at Fishawack Communications Ltd, Abingdon, Oxon, UK, and this service was supported by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA."

"The protocol and amendments were reviewed by Independent Ethics Committees or Institutional Review Boards. The study was conducted in accordance with Good Clinical Practice and the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. All patients, or if they lacked capacity, their legally authorized representative, provided written informed consent prior to participating. This study is registered (clinicaltrials.gov NCT00948766)."