title: Long-term outpatient treatment of senile dementia with oral physostigmine.
abstract: The authors describe five patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) who were treated with oral physostigmine from 1 to 3 3/4 years. An abbreviated form of the Buschke selective reminding test was used to assess the patients' short-term verbal memory at periodic clinic visits. Although one of the patients deteriorated progressively from the start of the physostigmine therapy and was taken off the drug after 1 year, there was no evidence of deterioration in memory performance on the average in the other four patients. Equally important, this open trial provides evidence of the safety of long-term treatment with physostigmine on an outpatient basis. The authors view their results as supporting the potential value of cholinesterase inhibition as a means of forestalling memory decline in SDAT patients.
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010830:Physostigmine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D010830:Physostigmine