Oral Tetrahydroaminoacridine Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease Evaluated Clinically and by Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and EEG

Minthon, Lennart; Gustafson, Lars; Dalfelt, G; Hagberg, Bo; Nilsson, Karin; Risberg, Jarl; Rosén, Ingmar; Seiving, Birgitta; Wendt, P.

doi:10.1159/000107293

Cited by 45 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The reduction of delta power under rivastigmine observed in this study is in line with the EEG changes reported under treatment with the older cholinesterase inhibitors physostigmine [24,26] and tetrahydroaminacridine [27,28]. This finding may be attributed to an enhancement of cholinergic neurotransmission under rivastigmine treatment.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Pharmacological studies in healthy individuals showed an increase in absolute EEG delta power after the application of the muscarinic acetylcholine antagonist scopolamine [23]. On the other hand, EEG slow-wave power in Alzheimer patients decreased subsequent to the administration of the acetylcholinesterase-inhibiting drugs physostigmine and tetrahydroaminoacridine (tacrine) [24][25][26][27][28]. Corresponding data for the newer acetylcholinesterase inhibi- Thus, we studied the effects of rivastigmine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor with established therapeutic efficacy in Alzheimer's disease [29], on the EEG power spectrum in a group of Alzheimer patients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Short-Term Rivastigmine Treatment Reduces EEG Slow-Wave Power in Alzheimer Patients

Adler

Brassen²

2001

Neuropsychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The effects of a 5-day treatment with rivastigmine on the resting EEG power spectrum were studied in 15 mildly to moderately ill Alzheimer patients. In these patients, beta power was positively correlated with cognitive performance and negatively correlated with functional impairment. Rivastigmine produced a decrease in delta and theta power with no effect of hemisphere and electrode position. Delta power decrease reflects the cerebral cholinergic action of rivastigmine and may thus allow a quantitative assessment of its CNS effects.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-Term Rivastigmine Treatment Reduces EEG Slow-Wave Power in Alzheimer Patients

Adler

Brassen²

2001

Neuropsychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An improvement in classical qEEG parameters was reported after short-term [11], medium-term (e.g., 6 weeks) [12], and even long-term [13] therapy. Very recently, a power reduction in slow frequencies has been observed after 5 days of rivastigmine therapy as well [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Quantitative EEG Changes in Alzheimer Patients during Long-Term Donepezil Therapy

Rodriguez¹,

Vitali²,

Leo³

et al. 2002

Neuropsychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Twenty patients affected with probable mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD; NINCDS-ADRDA criteria; 14 women and 6 men, mean age 75.2 ± 7.1 years) who regularly received an oral acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI; donepezil 5 mg/day; Dz group) were compared with a control group of 11 AD patients (6 women and 5 men, mean age 73.5 ± 6.0 years) diagnosed and followed up in the pre-AChEIs era (C group). At basal evaluation (t₀), the 2 groups were comparable for age, education, and severity of disease (Global Deterioration Scale). All patients underwent quantitative EEG (qEEG, average reference, 10–20 International System), and were reexamined about 1 year later (t₁; i.e., after 12.3 ± 3.6 months the Dz group, and after 13.7 ± 3.9 months the C group). Log-transformed values of two qEEG bands, i.e. 2–6 and 6.5–12 Hz, were averaged between adjacent channels (frontal F3 and F7, F4 and F8; parietotemporal P3 and T7, P4 and T8) to obtain a qEEG ratio (6.5–12/2–6 Hz.) from one frontal and one temporoparietal region in each hemisphere. Neuropsychological impairment was summarized by the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE). At t₀, both the MMSE score and the qEEG ratio values were somewhat higher in the C than in the Dz group, although nonsignificantly. Between t₀ and t₁, the MMSE score decreased significantly (p < 0.01) more in the C group (–4.36 ± 2.25) than in the Dz group (–1.45 ± 2.16), as did the qEEG ratio in the right frontal region (p < 0.01), whereas in the left frontal region the significance level was not reached (p = 0.02). Between t₀ and t₁, the qEEG ratio difference in both frontal regions and in the right temporoparietal region significantly correlated with the MMSE difference (p < 0.01), but neither with time between examinations nor with the difference on the Visual Search Test score. Long-term treatment with Dz led to a lesser deterioration of qEEG, paralleling a milder neuropsychological decline. The effect was significant in frontal regions, possibly because they are relatively spared during the mild-to-moderate phases of the disease.

show abstract

“…An improvement in EEG activity with an increase in mean frequency and a decrease in slow frequency [7][8][9][10] have been observed following long-term treatment with tacrine in AD patients. Similarly, increases in brain glucose metabolism [11][12][13] as well as cerebral blood flow [14] have been measured by positron emission tomography (PET) following tacrine treatment. Long-term treatment with tacrine for some years has shown some significant effect on tests of primary memory, episodic memory, visuospatial ability and psychomotor speed, when doses were adjusted repeatedly [15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responder Characteristics to a Single Oral Dose of Cholinesterase Inhibitor: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study withTacrine in Alzheimer P atients

Almkvist¹,

Jelić²,

Amberla³

et al. 2000

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A proportion of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients treated for several months with cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitors have shown some favorable response on cognition, but the characteristics of the responders are still unclear. This study attempts to identify the characteristics of individuals with a positive behavioral response after a double-blind randomized administration of a single oral dose of tacrine (40 mg) and placebo to AD patients. Furthermore, the relationship between single-dose and long-term responders are examined. Twenty-four mildly to very mildly demented AD patients participated in the study. They all fulfilled the diagnosis of probable AD according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. Active treatment (tacrine 40 mg) and placebo was administered in random order on 2 consecutive days, and the effects were evaluated within 2 h using neuropsychological tests (assessing visuospatial ability, episodic memory and attention), registration of EEG activity and measurement of red blood cells (RBC) acetylcholinesterase (AChE), ChE activity and concentrations of tacrine and its metabolites in plasma. Results demonstrated significant improvement, tacrine compared to placebo, in measures of attention, but not in episodic memory or visuospatial ability. A single-dose response was therefore defined in terms of improvement in attention. The tacrine plasma concentration (pcTHA) showed a positively skewed distribution (mean ± SD: 10.5 ± 11.8, range: 1.0–51.8 ng/ml). There were no significant differences between single-dose responders compared to nonresponders in pcTHA, metabolites of tacrine, inhibition of AChE in RBC, tau levels in CSF, AChE activity in CSF or plasma and demographic variables. However, single-dose responders showed a higher right frontal alpha/theta ratio on EEG and had lower glucose metabolism in the parietal-temporal association cortex at baseline. In addition, the frequency of apolipoprotein E (APOE) Ε4 alleles was higher in responders. Interestingly, the single-dose response was related to the long-term response, although not significantly, which probably was due to lack of power. To conclude, the present study identified single-dose responders in terms of improved attentional performance associated with a relatively higher alpha/theta activity in the right frontal regions of the brain measured on EEG and predominance of APOE Ε4 allele.

show abstract

Oral Tetrahydroaminoacridine Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease Evaluated Clinically and by Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and EEG

Cited by 45 publications

References 12 publications

Short-Term Rivastigmine Treatment Reduces EEG Slow-Wave Power in Alzheimer Patients

Short-Term Rivastigmine Treatment Reduces EEG Slow-Wave Power in Alzheimer Patients

Quantitative EEG Changes in Alzheimer Patients during Long-Term Donepezil Therapy

Responder Characteristics to a Single Oral Dose of Cholinesterase Inhibitor: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study withTacrine in Alzheimer P atients

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About