L-deprenyl and physostigmine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Author(s): Marin DB, Bierer LM, Lawlor BA, Ryan TM, Jacobson R, Schmeidler J, Mohs RC, Davis
KL.
Affiliation(s): Department of Psychiatry, Bronx Veterans Hospital, NY 10463, USA.
Publication date & source: 1995, Psychiatry Res. , 58(3):181-9
The present study evaluated the safety of and obtained preliminary data on the
cognitive effects of L-deprenyl and physostigmine in patients with Alzheimer's
Disease. Seventeen outpatients with Alzheimer's Disease participated in a
double-blind crossover study in which they received 4 weeks of L-deprenyl at a
dose of 10 mg p.o., q.d., and 4 weeks of placebo in random order. During both the
L-deprenyl and placebo periods, patients received cognitive assessments during
physostigmine (0.5 mg) and placebo infusions separated by 2 days. The cognitive
effects of these agents alone and in combination were measured with digit span,
verbal fluency, list learning, praxis, delayed recall, and delayed recognition
tasks. Fifteen patients completed the study. The two drugs, used alone or in
combination, were safe and well tolerated. Analyses of variance demonstrated that
neither physostigmine nor L-deprenyl, whether given alone or in combination,
significantly improved cognition, when compared with the double placebo
condition.
|