title: Cerebral blood flow and cognitive responses to rivastigmine treatment in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Twenty seven patients with mild AD were enrolled in a prospective open label controlled study of rivastigmine. Assessments included a range of neuropsychiatric and behavioural measures and rCBF using HMPAO SPECTat baseline, three and six months. Significant enhancement of frontal, parietal and temporal brain blood flow with related psychometric improvement was observed in twelve of the treated patients. A pattern of reduced rCBF and cognitive performance was observed in four unresponsive and eleven untreated patients. The results suggest that alterations in the clinical and cognitive status of patients receiving a cholinesterase inhibitor are paralleled by changes in rCBF. Longitudinal assessment with repeated imaging offers a method of better understanding the effects of cholinesterase inhibition on the AD brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: Annalena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Venneri
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Shanks
authors.forename: Roger T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Staff
authors.forename: Simon J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Pestell
authors.forename: Katrina E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Forbes
authors.forename: Howard G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Gemmell
authors.forename: Alison D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Murray
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D002219:Carbamates / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D048448:Phenylcarbamates; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D000068836:Rivastigmine; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; D013997:Time Factors; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
chemical_list: D002219:Carbamates; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D048448:Phenylcarbamates; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; D000068836:Rivastigmine