1991•Acta Psychiatrica ScandinavicaRequires access
Physostigmine in Alzheimer's disease: effects on cognitive functioning, cerebral glucose metabolism analyzed by positron emission tomography and cerebral blood flow analyzed by single photon emission tomography
Larry E. Tune, Jason Brandt, J. James Frost, Gordon J. Harris, Helen S. Mayberg, Cynthia Steele, Alistair S. Burns, Jennifer Sapp, Marshal F. Folstein, H. N. Wagner, Godfrey D. Pearlson
Open publisher page 33 citations
Abstract
The effect of acute, intravenous administration of physostigmine on measures of brain activity and cognitive functioning were investigated in 14 patients with Alzheimer's disease. Regional cerebral glucose metabolism was assessed using (18F)-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose and positron emission tomography, and cerebral blood flow was assessed using 123I-iodoamphetamine single photon emission tomography. Although physostigmine enhanced cerebral blood flow in most patients, only one patient showed significant clinical improvement. This patient, however, also showed a very pronounced improvement in cerebral glucose metabolism. It is concluded that these preliminary findings hold considerable promise for our appreciation of the pathophysiology of dementing illness as well as our understanding of centrally acting compounds of interest in Alzheimer's disease.