medicines with anti-cholinergic properties have a significant adverse effect on cognitive and physical function , but limited evidence exists for delirium or mortality outcomes
OBJECTIVES to determine the effect of drugs with anti-cholinergic properties on relevant health outcomes .
Changes in cognitive functioning with risperidone and olanzapine treatment: a large-scale, double-blind, randomized study
Objective The effects of risperidone and olanzapine on cognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia were compared in a r and omized , double-blind trial . Method Three hundred and seventy-seven patients were r and omly assigned to receive 2–6 mg/day of risperidone or 5–20 mg/day of olanzapine for 8 weeks . Cognitive function was assessed with a focused cognitive assessment battery ; in addition , extrapyramidal symptoms were assessed using the extrapyramidal symptom rating scale ( ESRS ) , and the positive and negative syndrome scale ( PANSS ) was rated for all patients . Results Treatment with these two atypical antipsychotic medications was associated with improved performance on the Wisconsin card sorting test , the trail-making test , the California verbal learning test , the continuous performance test , and some aspects of verbal fluency and spatial working memory . No differences in the effects of the drugs on any of the cognitive tests were noted . Correcting for the effects of anticholinergic treatment did not alter the magnitude of cognitive effects . Conclusions Atypical antipsychotic treatment is associated with wide-ranging benefits on cognitive functioning . Previous reports of greater benefits of olanzapine over risperidone in a small- sample pilot study were not substantiated . These results are not due in general to changes in clinical symptoms or movement disorders , suggesting a direct effect of atypical antipsychotic medications on cognitive deficits in schizophrenia
medicines with anti-cholinergic properties have a significant adverse effect on cognitive and physical function , but limited evidence exists for delirium or mortality outcomes
OBJECTIVES to determine the effect of drugs with anti-cholinergic properties on relevant health outcomes .