[Effects of CDP-choline on dynamic changes in LCBF and cognitive function in demented subjects--an H2 15O-PET study]

We studied correlations of serial changes in local cerebral blood flow (LCBF) after single intravenous (i.v.) injection of cytidine diphosphate choline (CDP-choline) to changes in cognitive function in demented subjects after its daily administration for one week. The study group consisted of 7 patients with dementia of vascular origin (VD group; mean age 65.0 years) and 3 patients with dementia of non-vascular origin (non-VD group; 64.7 years). Cognitive function was evaluated with the Japanese version of the Cross Cultural Cognitive Examination (CCCE). After i.v. injection of CDP-choline, mean supratentorial LCBF increased with the maximum value at 40 minutes post-injection in the VD-group, but decreased in the non-VD group (Type, n.s.; Time, n.s.; Type x Time, p < 0.01; ANOVA). The number of the pass-tasks in CCCE increased significantly after the 7 days-injection of CDP-choline only in the VD group (p < 0.05), while it was fairly stable in 15 control patients, who were matched in age and severity of dementia to the study patients. In this group, a change in the number of pass-tasks was significantly correlated with those in LCBF at ROIs in the left and right temporal cortices and the right thalamus. In the non-VD group, there were no significant changes of mean supratentorial LCBF and of the number of pass-tasks in CCCE. These results may be attributable to difference in availability of the acetylcholine neurotransmitter system in the brain between VD- and non-VD patients.