title: Anticholinergic Load: Is there a Cognitive Cost in Early Parkinson's Disease?
abstract: We evaluated the effect of anticholinergic burden on 219 participants with incident Parkinson's disease (PD) and 99 controls at study baseline and 18 months. Anticholinergic burden for each individual was calculated and summed according to the Anticholinergic Drug Scale (ADS). Medication with anticholinergic activity was more commonly prescribed in PD compared to controls, although mean ADS scores were not significantly different. Cognitive scores did not differ in PD participants taking medications with anticholinergic activity compared to those who were not. Low overall ADS scores due to increased awareness of adverse effects of medications and brevity of follow-up are potential explanations.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Alison J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Yarnall
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Rachael A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Gordon W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.affiliation: John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Breen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Tien K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Khoo
authors.affiliation: PET Center, Aarkhus University, Denmark.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.affiliation: John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Roger A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: John-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Burn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D003704:Dementia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists
keywords: Parkinson disease; amyloid; anticholinergics; dementia; mild cognitive impairment