Pharmacological treatment of chronic cognitive deficit: a review

Efficacy of oral hydergine (ergoloid mesylates) in alcohol related encephalopathy

A pilot-study to explore the efficacy of oral hydergine in seven cases of alcohol-related encephalopathy was undertaken. It showed significant improvement in symptoms of depression, plus some improvement in sleep disturbance and agitation, as measured by the Geriatric Profile (GP).

The effects of various cognition-enhancing drugs on in vitro rat hippocampal synaptosomal sodium dependent high affinity choline uptake

The purpose of the present study was to compare the effect of seven drugs, that have been reported to enhance cognitive functions, on rat hippocampal cholinergic neuronal activity. The latter was assessed by measuring the effects of the drugs on in vitro sodium-dependent high affinity choline uptake (HACU) into rat hippocampal synaptosomes 30 minutes after their in vivo administration. 3,4-Diaminopyridine (0.1 mg/kg IP), like pramiracetam (44 and 88 mg/kg IP), increased HACU with higher or lower doses being ineffective. Centrophenoxine (100 mg/kg IP) decreased HACU. Piracetam (100 and 500 mg/kg IP), aniracetam (10-200 mg/kg PO), lysine vasopressin (0.005-0.05 mg/kg IM) and 4-aminopyridine (0.01-3.0 mg/kg IP) were ineffective. The results indicate that 3,4-diaminopyridine and centrophenoxine, like pramiracetam may be increasing cognitive function in part by affecting hippocampal cholinergic neuronal activity. In addition, the findings indicate the usefulness of using in vitro HACU as a biochemical measurement to assess the potential effect of cognitive-enhancing drugs on cholinergic neuronal activity in vivo.

Quantitative studies of the effects of aging, meclofenoxate, and dihydroergotoxine on intraneuronal lipopigment accumulation in the rat

Intraneuronal lipopigment accumulation is associated with ageing and certain diseases, and there are many claims that this can be influenced by drugs, particularly meclofenoxate (centrophenoxine). The various unsubstantiated or conflicting reports of the effects of this drug in animal studies indicate the need for methods for the demonstration of lipopigment accumulation in adequately defined, easily-identified, and relatively homogeneous neuronal populations; this study has validated two such methods by demonstrating significant differences between groups of rats at different ages in respect of measured lipopigment autofluorescence intensity from the most heavily pigmented regions of a subpopulation of Purkinje cells, and of the area overlying intraneuronal lipopigment in a region of the hippocampus. These methods were then used to investigate the effects of daily (5 days per week) intraperitoneal injections of meclofenoxate or dihydroergotoxine, over a period of 12 weeks, before sacrifice at 13.5 months. No significant effects of meclofenoxate were detected, but dihydroergotoxine administration was associated with a significant increase in mean area overlying intraneuronal lipopigment in the CA3a region of the hippocampus. The results do not confirm that meclofenoxate can induce a reduction in intraneuronal lipopigment, but suggest that chronic dihydroergotoxine administration was associated with an increase in intraneuronal volume of lipopigment in the cell bodies of CA3a hippocampal neurones.

Recall of a 10-word list in the assessment of dementia in the elderly

Residents of homes for the elderly with a history of impaired memory compatible with senile Alzheimer dementia were assessed by a paired-associate learning test (PALT) and a word list recall test. The latter discriminated between groups of individuals categorized according to severity of cognitive impairment by the PALT. It may be suitable for the assessment of memory for new information in clinical practice and for the evaluation of change in clinical trials of treatments for dementia.