Human psychopharmacology
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Human psychopharmacology · Dec 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyEffects of prolonged-release melatonin, zolpidem, and their combination on psychomotor functions, memory recall, and driving skills in healthy middle aged and elderly volunteers.
Melatonin is an important regulator of the sleep-wake cycle. A prolonged-release formulation of melatonin (PR-M) that essentially mimics the profile of the endogenous production of the hormone is effective in the treatment of insomnia in patients aged 55 years and older. Because hypnotics result in impairments of various cognitive skills, it is important to examine the cognitive effects associated with the use of PR-M. ⋯ This study extends previous researches showing impairment of cognitive functions by zolpidem within 5 h post-administration. Further, PR-M use was not found associated with impairment of psychomotor functions, memory recall, and driving skills, and point to a pharmacodynamic interaction between melatonin and GABA-A modulators.
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Human psychopharmacology · Aug 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyEffects of warm-supplementing kidney yang (WSKY) capsule added on risperidone on cognition in chronic schizophrenic patients: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center clinical trial.
To evaluate the effects of warm-supplementing kidney yang (WSKY) capsule added on risperidone on cognition in chronic schizophrenic patients. ⋯ WSKY capsule added on risperidone may improve cognitive function, social function of the chronic schizophrenic patients, and the WSKY safely during treatment.
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Human psychopharmacology · Jun 2008
Pregabalin in the discontinuation of long-term benzodiazepines' use.
Tolerance, dependence, and adverse effects on cognitive functions are well-known consequences of long-term use of benzodiazepines (BDZ), especially at high doses, raising thorny therapeutic problems in their discontinuation. One promising pharmacological agent in BDZ discontinuation might be the newer anti-epileptic pregabalin, already successfully tested in the treatment of anxiety disorders. ⋯ Although preliminary, our findings suggest that pregabalin may be one new promising agent in the treatment of BDZ dependence.
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Human psychopharmacology · Dec 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialModulation of cognitive performance following single doses of 120 mg Ginkgo biloba extract administered to healthy young volunteers.
Previous research from our laboratory demonstrated that administration of single doses (120, 240, 360 mg) of standardised Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) had linear, dose-dependent, positive effects on the speed of performing attention tasks in comparison to placebo. However, whilst the lowest dose, which is typical of a recommended daily dose, had no effect on the speed of attention task performance it did engender mild improvements in secondary memory performance. The current study presents a reanalysis of data from three methodologically identical studies that each included a treatment of 120 mg GBE and matched placebo. ⋯ On each study day participants' performance on the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) computerised cognitive assessment battery was measured immediately prior to dosing and at 1, 2.5, 4 and 6 hr following treatment, with scores collapsed into the six measures (speed of attention, accuracy of attention, secondary memory, working memory, speed of memory, quality of memory) which have previously been derived by factor analysis of the data from CDR subtests. The results showed that 120 mg of Ginkgo engendered a significant improvement on the 'quality of memory' factor that was most evident at 1 and 4 hr post-dose, but had a negative effect on performance on the 'speed of attention' factor that was most evident at 1 and 6 hr post-dose. The current study confirmed the previous observation of modestly improved memory performance following 120 mg of GBE, but suggests that acute administration of this typical daily dose may have a detrimental effect on the speed of attention task performance which is opposite to that seen previously following higher doses.
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Human psychopharmacology · Jul 2006
Comparative StudyFunctional cognitive assessment scale (FUCAS): a new scale to assess executive cognitive function in daily life activities in patients with dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
Several tests have been developed to examine performance of demented patients in daily life activities. However, most of them are based either on the subjective evaluation of performance by the patient him/herself, or on the reports of relatives. Functional Cognitive Assessment Scale (FUCAS) is a new reliable (alpha > 0.89 - 0.92) cognitive-behavioral scale that assesses executive function in daily life activities directly in patients with dementia. ⋯ FUCAS is a useful and reliable diagnostic tool for MCI. Cognitive-behavioral assessment such as that provided by FUCAS can provide objective information that can serve to enhance the quality of clinical decision-making.