Source: DGNews  |  Posted 1 year ago

By Jenny Powers

THESSALONIKI, Greece -- March 15, 2010 -- Patients with Parkinson’s disease
dementia (PDD) respond to 2 weeks of treatment with rivastigmine by
demonstrating improved short-term memory and decreased theta activity,
according to preliminary results presented here on March 11 at the 25th
Conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI).

Georg Adler, MD, Clinical Studies, Institut für Studien zur psychischen
Gesundheit (ISPG), Mannheim, Germany, and colleagues are conducting an ongoing
open study to determine the response to treatment with rivastigmine on 150
outpatients (Mini-Mental State Exam [MMSE] score 15-27) with PDD and cognitive
impairment.

Rivastigmine acts on decreased cholinergic levels, which are associated with
disrupted attention ability, impaired short-term memory, visual hallucinations,
and increased electroencephalogram (EEG) theta activity.

This analysis assessed patients’ attention, short-term memory, and quantitative
EEG before rivastigmine treatment (beginning dose 3 mg once daily, ongoing
doses of 6-9 mg daily) and at 2 weeks post treatment.
Patients are receiving levodopa treatment for PD physical symptoms. Response to
treatment will also be evaluated at 6 and 12 months of treatment.

The endpoint is an increase in MMSE score and a decrease in EEG theta activity.
Data from 32 of the patients in the treatment group have been analysed. At 2
weeks after treatment with rivastigmine, patients displayed improved delayed
recall (P = .02), improved attention as quantified by the
Alterskonzentrationstest (P = .04), and an increase in MMSE score
(P = .02). EEG theta activity was reduced (P = .08).

The researchers concluded that short-term cholinergic treatment with
rivastigmine is effective for the treatment of PDD because it improved PD
symptoms and decreased theta activity. Furthermore, Dr. Adler remarked that
because PDD is characterised by a stronger cholinergic deficit than seen in
most Alzheimer’s disease patients, rivastigmine could be expected to be
effective in this group. He added that an investigation of rivastigmine in
patients with Alzheimer’s disease is warranted.

Presentation title: Prediction of Treatment Response to Rivastigmine in
Parkinson’s Disease Dementia. Abstract OC056