Memory enhancement in Korsakoff's psychosis by clonidine: further evidence for a noradrenergic deficit.
Three drugs, d-amphetamine, clonidine, and methysertide, which presumably enhance central noradrenergic activity by different pharmacological mechanisms, were administered to eight patients with the Korsakoff syndrome in a two-week subacute, double-blind, counterbalanced experiment to study the effects of these agents on memory function as measured by a neuropsychological test battery. Of the drugs tested, only clonidine, a putative alpha-noradrenergic agonist, was associated with significant improvement in memory. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that damage to ascending norepinephrine-containing neurons in the brainstem and diencephalon may be the basis for amnesia in Korsakoff's psychosis.
D000328:Adult; D000425:Alcohol Amnestic Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003000:Clonidine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003913:Dextroamphetamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008784:Methysergide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000502:physiology
D003000:Clonidine; D003913:Dextroamphetamine; D009638:Norepinephrine; D008784:Methysergide