The efficacy of a "cocktail therapy" on Parkinson's disease with dementia

Objective: To explore the efficacy and safety of "cocktail therapy" in Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD). Patients and methods: Sixty patients with PDD were randomly assigned to the test group (n=30) and a control group (n=30). The control group received 10 mg of donepezil hydrochloride tablets orally, once a day. The test group was treated with a "cocktail therapy", which consisted of 10 mg of donepezil hydrochloride tablets taken orally, once a day; 200 mg of dl-3n-butylphthalide soft capsules taken orally, 15 mins before each meal, three times daily; 800 mg of oxiracetam capsules taken orally, three times daily; and 80 mg of Ginkgo biloba extract tablets taken orally, three times daily. Treatment was administered for six months. The Montreal cognitive assessment scale (MoCA), Blessed-Roth dementia scale, and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale sum of boxes (CDR-SB) were used before treatment and on the third and sixth month after treatment. Adverse events were also monitored. Results: There were no statistical differences in MoCA, CDR-SB, or Blessed-Roth dementia scale scores between the two groups before treatment. MoCA scores of the test group at six months were significantly higher than those before the treatment and at three months, while both the Blessed-Roth and CDR-SB scores were significantly lower than those before treatment and at three months (p<0.05). Compared with the control group, MoCA scores of the test group were significantly higher, while both the Blessed-Roth and CDR-SB scores were significantly lower (p<0.05), at six months after treatment. There was no statistical difference (p>0.05) between the test group (16.67%) and the control group (13.33%) in the rate of abnormal liver function after treatment. Conclusion: Treatment with "cocktail therapy" was safe and improved the conditions of patients with PDD, as well as the quality of life of the patients.