title: A retrospective analysis of the effects of anticholinergic medication on memory performance in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: We examined the effects of anticholinergic medication on memory function in 113 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Subjects were divided into three disease duration groups: early, middle, and advanced. The battery consisted of three tasks assessing memory of logical discourse, semantically related words, and figural material. We found no evidence of anticholinergic-induced memory dysfunction in any of the three groups. Analysis of covariance indicated that age was not a significant variable; however, dementia may have influenced the relationship between anticholinergic medication and memory scores. Our results indicate that anticholinergic medication does not uniformly compromise memory function in PD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Miami, School of Medicine, Florida 33101.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Llabre
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reisman
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects*; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010276:Parasympatholytics / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D010276:Parasympatholytics