title: Cholinesterase inhibition in the scopolamine model of dementia.
abstract: Scopolamine produces a satisfactory model of the attentional and secondary memory deficits seen in Alzheimer's disease (AD) that can be used to screen compounds for potential therapeutic usefulness. Physostigmine, which is known to enhance memory in AD, produced marked and widespread antagonism of the scopolamine-induced impairments, indicating the sensitivity of the model and establishing its relevance for the clinical situation. HP 029, a novel anticholinesterase, also exhibited widespread potency in the model, and in an international trial with patients with AD, it subsequently showed improvement on similar measures, demonstrating the predictive use of the scopolamine model.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Drug Research, Reading, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Wesnes
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pinker
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jertz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Siegfried
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013619:Tacrine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D013619:Tacrine; D012601:Scopolamine; C056424:velnacrine