title: Donepezil and flight simulator performance: effects on retention of complex skills.
abstract: We report a randomized, double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled study to test the effects of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil (5 mg/d for 30 days), on aircraft pilot performance in 18 licensed pilots with mean age of 52 years. After 30 days of treatment, the donepezil group showed greater ability to retain the capacity to perform a set of complex simulator tasks than the placebo group, p < 0.05. Donepezil appears to have beneficial effects on retention of training on complex aviation tasks in nondemented older adults.
authors.affiliation: Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5550, USA. yesavage@stanford.edu
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Yesavage
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Mumenthaler
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: O'Hara
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sheikh
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tinklenberg
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Whitehouse
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001359:Aviation; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000077265:Donepezil; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D007189:Indans / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000187:drug effects*; D010880:Piperidines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D007189:Indans; D010880:Piperidines; D000077265:Donepezil