Physostigmine and arecoline: effects of intravenous infusions in Alzheimer presenile dementia.
Physostigmine (0.25 mg-1 mg), arecoline (2 and 4 mg) and saline were administered intravenously over 30 minutes in a randomized double blind design to 11 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer presenile dementia. Significant improvement was seen on a picture recognition test with physostigmine 0.375 mg and arecholine 4 mg. A trend towards improvement was also seen with physostigmine 0.25 mg and 0.75 mg, and arecholine 2 mg. For the majority of the patients improvement was only slight but in two patients it was clear cut and consistent.
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D001115:Arecoline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003704:Dementia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D010830:Physostigmine / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D001115:Arecoline; D010830:Physostigmine