Medline ® Abstract for Reference 102
of 'Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder'
102
TI
Rivastigmine as alternative treatment for refractory REM behavior disorder in Parkinson's disease.
AU
Di Giacopo R, Fasano A, Quaranta D, Della Marca G, Bove F, Bentivoglio AR
SO
Mov Disord. 2012 Apr;27(4):559-61. Epub 2012 Jan 30.
BACKGROUND:
We report on a double-blind, crossover pilot trial for the treatment of rapid eye movement behavior disorder (RBD) in 12 patients with Parkinson's disease in whom conventional therapy failed.
METHODS:
We employed a patch of the cholinesterase inhibitor rivastigmine at a dose of 4.6 mg/24 hours for 3 weeks compared with placebo to reduce the frequency of RBD episodes. The number of RBD episodes was monitored by diaries of bed partners.
RESULTS:
Rivastigmine was well tolerated in most patients, with minor side effects, mainly related to peripheral cholinergic action, and significantly reduced the mean frequency of RBD episodes during the observation time.
CONCLUSIONS:
The results of this pilot trial need to be confirmed by further studies on a larger number of patients.
AD
Movement Disorders Research Center, Department of Neuroscience, Catholic University, Rome, Italy. rdigiacopo@yahoo.it
PMID