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Published on: December 28, 2013
Effect of donepezil on brain acetylcholinesterase activity in patients with AD measured by PET
H Shinotoh1, A Aotsuka, K Fukushi
1Division of Advanced Technology for Medical Imaging, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, Japan.
Abstract:
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities in the brain of three patients with AD were measured once before and once during donepezil treatment (5 mg/d in two patients, 3 mg/d in one patient) using PET and N-[11C]methylpiperidin-4-yl acetate. Donepezil reduced k(3) values, an index of AChE activity, in the cerebral cortex by 39 +/- 5%. All patients showed some degree of symptomatic improvement, and it was concluded that this improvement was likely caused by improved cholinergic activity by inhibition of AChE in the brain.
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