Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cognitive improvement during Tolcapone treatment in Parkinson's disease

  • Published:
Journal of Neural Transmission Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Tolcapone, a reversible, selective inhibitor of catechol-O-methyltransferase, on the cognitive functions of eight patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. They underwent neuropsychological and motor assessment at baseline and were reevaluated after 6 months. During this period, they received Tolcapone three times daily, while the L-dopa dosage was progressively reduced. Significant improvements were observed in the attentional task, auditory verbal short-term memory, visuo-spatial recall, constructional praxia and motor symptoms. These data suggest that treatment with Tolcapone, in combination with L-dopa therapy, may determine a significant improvement in cognitive resources of patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abraham W, Delanoy R, Dunn A, Zornetzer S (1979) Locus coeruleus stimulation decreases deoxyglucose uptake in ipsilateral cerebral cortex. Brain Res 172: 387–392

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aston-Jones G, Foote S, Bloom F (1981) Norepinephrine containing locus coeruleus neurons in behaving rats exhibit pronounced responses to non-noxious stimuli. J Neurosci 1: 887–899

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen F, Burns M, Yahr M (1976) Alterations in memory processes subsequent to short and long term treatmente with L-dopa. In: Birkmayer W, Hornykiewicz O (eds) Advances in parkinsonism. Roche, Geneva, pp 488–491

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown R, Marsden C, Quinn N, Wyke M (1984) Alteration in cognitive performance and affect-arousal state during fluctuations in motor function in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 47: 454–465

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cash R, Dennis T, L'Heureux R, Raisman R, Javoy-Agid F, Scatton B (1987) Parkinson's disease and dementia. Norepinephrine and dopamine in locus coeruleus. Neurology 37: 42–46

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clark C, Geffen G, Geffen L (1986) Role of monoamine pathways in the control of attention: effects of droperidol and methylphendiate in normal adult humans. Psychopharmacology 90: 28–34

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clark C, Geffen G, Geffen L (1989) Catecholamines and covert orientation of attention in humans. Neuropsychologia 27: 131–139

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Delis D, Direnfeld L, Alexander M, Kaplan E (1982) Cognitive fluctuations associated with on-off phenomena in Parkinson disease. Neurology 32: 1049–1052

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fournet N, Moreand O, Roulin J-L, Naegele B, Pellat J (1996) Working memory in medicated patients with Parkinson's disease: the central executive seems to work. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 60: 313–317

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gotham A, Brown R, Marsden C (1988) “Fontal” cognitive function in patients with Parkinson's disease “on” and “off” levodopa. Brain 111: 299–321

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hietanen M (1991) Selegiline and cognitive function in Parkinson's disease. Acta Neurol Scand 84: 407–410

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huber, S, Shulman H, Paulson G, Shuttleworth E (1987) Fluctuations in plasma dopamine level impair memory in Parkinson's disease. Neurology 37: 1371–1375

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huber S, Shulman H, Paulson G, Shuttleworth E (1989) Dose-dependent memory impairment in Parkinson's disease. Neurology 39: 438–440

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Iversen S (1984) Cortical monoamines and behavior. In: Descarries L, Reader T, Jasper H (eds) Monoamine innervation and cerebral cortex. Liss, New York, pp 321–349

    Google Scholar 

  • Lezak M (1983) Neuropsychological assessment. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Malapani C, Pillon B, Dubois S, Agid Y (1994) Impaired simultaneous cognitive task performance in Parkinson's disease: a dopamine-relate dysfunction. Neurology 44: 319–326

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marsden C, Jenner P (1981) L-dopa's action in Parkinson's disease. Trends Neurosci 4: 148–150

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohr E, Fabbrini G, Ruggieri S, Fedio P, Chase T (1987) Cognitive concomitans of dopamine system stimulation in Parkinsonian patients. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 50: 1192–1196

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mohr E, Fabbrini G, Williams J, Schlegel J, Cox C, Fedio P, Chase T (1989) Dopamine and memory function in Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord 4: 113–120

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nutt J, Hammerstad J, Gancher S (1992) Drug therapy: protective therapy. In: Parkinson's disease. E Arnold, London, pp 54–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Owen A, James M, Leigh P, Summers B, Marsden C, Quinn N, Lange K, Robbins T (1992) Fronto-striatal cognitive deficits at different stages of Parkinson's disease. Brain 115: 1727–1751

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Owen A, Beksinska M, James M, Leigh P, Summers B, Marsden C, Quinn N, Sahakian B, Robbins T (1993) Neuropsychologia 31: 627–644

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pillon B, Dubois B, Cusimano G, Bonnet A, Lhermitte F, Agid Y (1989) Does cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease result from non-dopaminergic lesions? J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 52: 201–206

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pirozzolo F, Hansch E, Mortimer J, Webster D, Kuskowski M (1982) Dementia in Parkinson's disease. A neuropsychological analysis. Brain Cogn 1: 71–83

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pollak P, Limousin P, Gervason C, Perret J (1993) Prolongation of levodopa-induced “on” motor periods by Ro 40-7592, a catechol-o-methyltransferase inhibitor in Parkinson's disease. Ann Neurol 34: 316

    Google Scholar 

  • Role L, Kelly K (1991) The brain stem: cranial nerve nuclei and the monoaminergic systems. In: Kandel E, Schwartz J, Jessell T (eds) Principles of neural sciences. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 680–700

    Google Scholar 

  • Shallice T (1982) Specific impairments of planning. Phil Transact Roy Soc Lond 298: 199–209

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharpe M (1992) Auditory attention in early parkinson's disease: an impairment in focused attention. Neuropsychologia 30: 101–105

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scheibel A (1984) The brainstem core and sensory function. In: Darian-Smith I (ed) Handbook of physiology, section I, vol III, part 1. American Physiological Society, Bethesda, pp 243–256

    Google Scholar 

  • Scatton B, Javoy-Agid F, Rouquier L, Dubois B, Agid Y (1983) Reduction of cortical dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin and their metabolites in Parkinson's disease. Brain Res 275: 321–328

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weingartner H, Burns S, Diebel R, Lewitt P (1984) Cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease: distinguishing between effort-demanding and automatic cognitive processes. Psychiatry Res 11: 223–235

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zametkin A, Rapaport J (1987) Noradrenergic hypothesis of attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity: a critical review. In Meltzer H (ed) Psychopharmacology. Raven Press, New York, pp 837–842

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann P, Sprengelmeyer R, Fimm B, Wallesch C (1992) Cognitive slowing in decision tasks in early and advanced Parkinson's disease. Brain Cogn 18: 60–69

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zürcher G, Keller H, Kettler R, et al (1990) Tolcapone a novel, very potent, and orally active inhibitor of catechol-o-methyl-transferase: a pharmacological study in rats. Adv Neurol 53: 497–503

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. G. Meco

    Present address: Department of Neurosciences, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosciences, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

    M. Gasparini, E. Fabrizio & V. Bonifati

Authors
  1. M. Gasparini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. E. Fabrizio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. V. Bonifati
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. G. Meco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gasparini, M., Fabrizio, E., Bonifati, V. et al. Cognitive improvement during Tolcapone treatment in Parkinson's disease. J. Neural Transmission 104, 887–894 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01285556

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01285556

Keywords

Search

Navigation