Effects of a single dose of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor velnacrine on recognition memory and regional cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer's disease.
The effects of a single oral dose of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor velnacrine maleate on word and object recognition memory and regional uptake of 99mTc-exametazime were examined in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Word recognition memory was marginally improved 2 h after 75 mg velnacrine. With the same dose of velnacrine a relative increase in superior frontal uptake of 99mTc-exametazime was shown with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). This suggests increased regional perfusion and metabolism as a consequence of cholinergic stimulation. The effect did not co-vary with the degree of memory improvement, but, instead, more cognitively impaired patients showed a greater increase in tracer uptake after velnacrine, suggesting cholinergic hypersensitivity in the brains of Alzheimer patients.
Ebmeier
K P
KP
MRC Brain Metabolism Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, UK.
Hunter
R
R
Curran
S M
SM
Dougal
N J
NJ
Murray
C L
CL
Wyper
D J
DJ
Patterson
J
J
Hanson
M T
MT
Siegfried
K
K
Goodwin
G M
GM
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010830:Physostigmine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013619:Tacrine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D013619:Tacrine; D010830:Physostigmine; C056424:velnacrine