title: Cognitive effects of paroxetine in older depressed patients.
abstract: This study examined whether paroxetine produces cognitive toxicity in elderly patients suffering from a major depressive episode. Twenty-nine depressed patients with a wide range of cognitive functioning were treated with paroxetine. At baseline and during 6 weeks of treatment, patients were asked to complete various measures of cognitive function and had blood drawn to determine serum anticholinergicity. Measures of attention and cognitive speed showed significant improvement with treatment, while the memory performance remained unchanged. A similar pattern of results was found in both cognitively impaired and intact patients. The slight increase in serum anticholinergicity seen in some elderly patients did not significantly impair cognitive function, even in patients with a preexisting cognitive impairment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA, USA.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Nebes
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Pollock
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Mulsant
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Butters
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Zmuda
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Reynolds
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017374:Paroxetine / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014888:Wechsler Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D017374:Paroxetine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors