Source: DGNews  |  Posted 9 years ago

By Coriene E. Hannapel
Special to DG News

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- November 18, 2002 -- Treatment with desloratadine, a non-sedating antihistamine, has been shown to provide beneficial effects on workplace performance in patients with symptomatic seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR).

"This study evaluated the effect of desloratadine on simulated real-world performance demands in patients with SAR," said study author Usha Satish, PhD, associate professor in the department of psychiatry at Upstate Medical University, State University of New York, in New York, United States.

Dr. Satish presented the findings here November 16 at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology (ACAAI).

Treatment with antihistamines is commonly prescribed for allergic disease, Dr. Satish said, but many of these medications can decrease cognitive functioning, adding to the already present symptoms of difficulties in thinking, remembering, and paying attention due to the presence of sneezing, nasal congestion, and rhinorrhea.

To assess the effects of desloratadine on parameters of managerial performance in patients with SAR and to assess its efficacy in reducing symptoms of SAR, Dr. Satish's team conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over, single-center study.

Forty-four patients completed the study. Patients ranged in age from 18 to 48 years, with a median age of 37. The majority of the patients were male (52 percent) and white (96 percent), with a mean weight of 182 pounds. Each had a positive skin test to a seasonal allergen.

The researchers used the Strategic Management Simulation system to assess decision-making and higher order cognitive functioning in various domains. The system uses several parameters to assess complex functioning pivotal to day-to-day life related to nine categories of management performance.

Functioning was assessed for each treatment regimen, which consisted of administration of placebo prior to the allergy season when the patients were asymptomatic, and during the allergy season when the patients (symptomatic) were given desloratadine 5 mg or placebo once daily for two days.

Patients rated their allergy symptoms on a four-point scale ranging from no symptoms to severe symptoms.

"We found that desloratadine treatment actually could bring a number of these parameters back to baseline," Dr. Satish said.

Desloratadine significantly improved performance in six of nine parameters compared with placebo in symptomatic patients. For the categories of task orientation, applied initiative, and information orientation, the level of symptomatic patients treated with desloratadine was similar to that seen in asymptomatic patients at baseline.

The desloratadine treated group also improved in the performance parameters of basic activity level, breadth of approach, and strategy when compared to the symptomatic, placebo-treated group, but the level of improvement did not reach the level recorded in the asymptomatic condition.

Treatment with desloratadine had no effect on three performance parameters, which included speed of response, emergency responsiveness, and planning distance.

"There are ongoing studies which are further assessing the effects of desloratadine on cognitive functioning," Dr. Satish said.

This study was funded by a grant from Schering-Plough.