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Dear Friends, folks using Artane (Trihexyphenidyl) may wish to print out the following and discuss with their neurologist. Best, Kathrynne ================================================== Increased Alzheimer pathology in Parkinson's disease related to antimuscarinic drugs EK Perry, L Kilford, AJ Lees, DJ burn, RH Perry Ann Neurol 2003;54:235-238 Use of anticholinergic (antimuscarinic) drugs to treat Parkinson's disease may increase the level of brain plaques and tangles that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, according to this report. >From 120 neuropathologically confirmed PD cases with age greater than 70 at time of death, 54 were analyzed for presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Within this group, 21 had never received antimuscarinics, 15 had received them for less than 2 years, and 18 for longer than 2 years. Trihexyphenidyl was the most common agent. Density of plaques and tangles were rated by blinded raters from 0 to 5. The plaque scores were 1.11, 0.60, and 2.5 for the never, short, and long-term treatment groups, respectively (long-term vs. never p=0.005, long-term vs. short p=0.00005). Tangle scores were 0.43, 0.50, and 0.94 (long-term vs. never p=0.02, long-term vs. short p=0.05). The authors conclude, "These data are consistent with the possibility that prolonged use of antimuscarinic drugs accelerates amyloidosis and senile plaque formation in the aging brain in subjects with PD," although they note that "the increase in plaque density was not great and still far short of that seen in AD.. If our findings are substantiated, they would suggest that chronic antimuscarinic medication may not be appropriate in older patients." Copyright 2003 WE MOVE WE MOVE Executive Director: Judith Blazer, MS ([log in to unmask]) E-MOVE Editor: Richard Robinson ([log in to unmask]) Your E-MOVE news subscription is provided free of charge, courtesy of WE MOVE. PRIVATE DONATIONS ARE NEEDED TO SUPPORT WE MOVE's VALUABLE, FREE SERVICES LIKE THIS ELECTRONIC NEWS SERVICE. Please donate online at http://www.wemove.org/donations/. You may also send your tax-deductible contribution to the address below. This document may be freely redistributed by email only in its unedited form. We encourage you to share it with your colleagues. Visit http://www.wemove.org/emove/ for E-MOVE archives and information on subscribing to E-MOVE. To unsubscribe, visit http://www.wemove.org/emove/unsubscribe.asp. WE MOVE 204 West 84th Street New York, NY 10024 TEL 800-437-MOV2 TEL 212-875-8312 FAX 212-875-8389 -- Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD < [log in to unmask] > "Ask the Parkinson Dietitian" http://www.parkinson.org/ "Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease" "Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy" http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn