The effect of deprenyl (selegiline) on cognition and emotion in parkinsonian patients undergoing long-term levodopa treatment.
The effects of deprenyl on memory, other cognitive functions, vigilance and emotional processes were investigated in seven parkinsonian patients undergoing long-term levodopa treatment. The patients were selected on the basis of their cognitive impairment, observed during a follow-up study of 8-10 years. Four of the patients had progressive dementia and three did not. After deprenyl treatment lasting 4 weeks, there were two patterns of responses. Patients with slow progressive dementia failed to respond to treatment, whereas patients without progressive impairment tended to show improvement in memory and motor speed; the former group also showed more emotional changes than the latter. Typical responses in all patients treated with deprenyl were: increased arousal, paradoxical spells of tiredness, deterioration in vigilance and in set shifting, but improvement of parkinsonian disability. These preliminary findings indicate that there is a dissociation between pure motor responses and cognitive as well as other behavioural responses to deprenyl. It is probable that although enhanced availability of dopamine by MAO-B inhibition partly explains the present neuropsychological findings, also other brain mechanisms are involved.
D000368:Aged; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects; D001519:Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D010627:Phenethylamines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012642:Selegiline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013997:Time Factors
D010627:Phenethylamines; D012642:Selegiline; D007980:Levodopa