Oral physostigmine treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease

• DOI: 10.1176/ajp.142.1.28
• Publication Date: 2014-12-17T19:18:19Z
• Authors: Richard C. Mohs; Belinda Davis; Celeste A. Johns; Aleksander A. Mathé; Blaine Greenwald; Thomas Horvath; Keith L. Davis
• Keywords: Physostigmine

Twelve patients with Alzheimer's disease received 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mg of oral physostigmine every 2 hours for 3-5 days; symptoms after each dose were assessed the Disease Assessment Scale. Placebo associated least severe then readministered days each. Of 10 who completed study, three showed clinically significant improvement on highest in both phases, four more marginally improved had inconsistent responses to physostigmine. Cortisol measures obtained during a sleep study suggest that whose those whom enhanced central cholinergic activity.