title: Effects of a single dose of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor velnacrine on recognition memory and regional cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: MRC Brain Metabolism Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, UK.
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Ebmeier
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Curran
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Dougal
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Wyper
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Siegfried
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Goodwin
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D013619:Tacrine; D010830:Physostigmine; C056424:velnacrine