Efficacy and safety of galantamine (reminyl) in the treatment of dementia in patients with Parkinson's disease (open-label controlled trial)

Forty-one Parkinson's disease patients with dementia (21 galantamine group, 20 - control group) with onset of dementia at least two years after the manifestation of parkinsonian symptoms participated in this open-label controlled trial of galantamine in maximum dose 16 mg/day. Cognitive, psychiatric and motor symptoms were assessed before and after 4, 12 and 24 weeks of treatment using clinical assessment as well as rating scales, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), ADAS-cog, clock drawing test, Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-12) with assessment of caregiver distress. Patients treated with galantamine had better scores on MMSE (p < 0,05), ADAS-cog (p < 0,05), clock drawing test (p < 0,05) and FAB (p < 0,01) to the end of the trial comparing to the control group. NPI scores on individual items changed from baseline at week 12 and 24, showing benefits of galantamine treatment as compared to the controls, with significant difference for hallucinations (p=0,0002), anxiety (p=0,04), sleep disorders (p=0,04) and apathy (p=0,006). Galantamine therapy was associated with a significant reduction in caregiver distress (p=0,007), improvement of daily life activity (p=0,003). Gait, freezing and falls were improved in the galantamine group but a mild worsening of tremor was noted in two patients. Adverse events (drooling, postural hypotension, nausea, dysuria) were observed in 7 (30%) of galantamine treated patients.