This study explores the longitudinal relationship between patient characteristics and use of 4 drug classes (antihypertensives, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and hormones) that showed significant changes in use rates over time in patients with Alzheimer disease. Patient/caregiver-reported prescription medication usage was categorized by drug class for 201 patients from the Predictors Study. ...

The antagonism of the nondepolarizing neuromuscular blockade is accomplished many times in a given day. Fortunately, the incidents of complications are low. If they do occur and are not recognized and treated properly, however, the results can be serious. In this article, the author reviews the curariform group of drugs, anticholinesterases, and anticholinergics, evaluating the antagonism of th...

A fixed-time incubation method for measuring acetylsalicylic acid esterase was improved by using a higher concentration of the substrate, acetylsalicylic acid, and an activator, Ca2+. The enzymatic activity in serum was 25-fold that measured by earlier methods. Inhibition studies showed a pattern similar to that reported for cholinesterase. Use of cholinesterase inhibitor in sample tubes for de...

An important aspect of brain cholinesterase function is related to enzymatic differences. The brain of mammals contains two major forms of cholinesterases: acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE). The two forms differ genetically, structurally and for their kinetics. Butyrylcholine is not a physiological substrate in mammalian brain which makes the function of BuChE of dif...

0456 R andomized controlled trials (RCTs) are generally considered to be a robust form of evidence, free from bias, and the trial results are often used as a powerful tool to promote new drugs [1,2]. However, because the inclusion criteria for many RCTs are often very restrictive (for example, trials generally exclude patients with serious concomitant illnesses) and because patients in trials t...

After a decade of intense study of cholinergic therapies for Alzheimer's disease, three conditions in this field are apparent: 1) The potential that cholinergic agents will ameliorate the memory dysfunction of Alzheimer patients (as 1-dopa benefits Parkinson patients) is still a stimulus for research. 2) Cholinergic neuropharmacology and its impact on the therapy of memory disorders associated ...