You are seeing this message because your Web browser does not support basic Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.


ABOUT ARCHIVES
Advanced Search

Welcome   | My Account | E-mail Alerts | Access Rights | Sign In


  Vol. 54 No. 4, April 1997 TABLE OF CONTENTS
  Archives
  •  Online Features
  ARTICLE
 This Article
 • Reply to article
 •Send to a friend
 • Save in My Folder
 •Save to citation manager
 •Permissions
 Citing Articles
 •Contact me when this article is cited
 Related Content
 •Similar articles in this journal

Double-blind crossover study with physostigmine in patients with degenerative cerebellar diseases

K. Wessel, K. Langenberger, M. F. Nitschke and D. Kompf
Department of Neurology, Medical University of Lubeck, Germany.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether treatment with physostigmine can improve the conditions of patients with ataxia. DESIGN: A double-blind crossover study with physostigmine was performed in 19 patients with degenerative cerebellar diseases. SETTING: Patients were selected from an ongoing prospective follow-up study at the university hospital in Lubeck, Germany. PATIENTS: Eleven patients with autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia and 8 patients with idiopathic cerebellar ataxia. INTERVENTION: Physostigmine was administered by using a transdermal system (patch) containing 30 mg of physostigmine as a base, of which about 6 mg is released during 24 hours along a diffusion gradient. Each treatment phase with the physostigmine patch or the placebo lasted 4 weeks, after which the treatment of patients was crossed over to the other phase. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ataxia was documented and quantified by using a clinical score and posturographic measures. RESULTS: Physostigmine patches had no significant effect on cerebellar symptoms. CONCLUSION: Treatment with physostigmine does not improve the conditions of patients with ataxia.





HOME | CURRENT ISSUE | PAST ISSUES | TOPIC COLLECTIONS | CME | SUBMIT | SUBSCRIBE | HELP
CONDITIONS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US | SITE MAP
 
© 1997 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.