On the effects of pyritinol on functional deficits of patients with organic mental disorders

In 120 geriatric patients suffering from cerebral functional disorders with a moderate to rather severe degree of chronic brain syndrome, the effects of pyritinol were investigated in a placebo-controlled, randomized double-blind study. Furthermore, we attempted to find some evidence for the validity of a neurophysiological vigilance model which had already been used earlier. In the previous study it had been possible to show a rise in the vigilance level in patients under pyritinol treatment. The investigation began with a two-week single-blind placebo wash-out phase and continued over a 12-week treatment period, with six weeks' treatment in a hospital ward and six weeks' outpatient treatment (or in a geriatric home within a hospital setting). Pyritinol was administered three times daily in coated tablets each containing 200 mg. The course of the trial was controlled using two rating scales (SCAG, BGP), a physician's Global Impression (GI) and two performance tests (SKT, ZVT-G). There were 13 drop-outs, four because of intercurrent diseases, nine because they did not fulfill the inclusion criteria. The data of 107 patients were included in the statistical analysis, 54 on pyritinol and 53 on placebo. No notable adverse drug reactions were observed that were not similarly reported in the placebo group (Table 1). Statistically significant results were found in favor of pyritinol compared with placebo in both the level of clinical symptomatology (Fig. 1) and the performance level (Fig. 4). Particularly impressive was the superiority of pyritinol in the factor "social behavior" of the SCAG. Considering the clinical relevance of the changes it can be concluded that in both groups improvements occurred.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)