Can Rasagiline Enhance Cognition in Parkinson Disease?

A placebo-controlled trial suggests not, in contrast to previous findings.

One frustrating area of treatment in Parkinson disease (PD) is addressing cognitive dysfunction. Whether treatment with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor B (MAO-B) drug would help this disabling symptom has been uncertain. Now, researchers have examined the efficacy and tolerability of the MAO-B rasagiline in 170 PD patients with mild cognitive impairment in a manufacturer-sponsored, double-blind trial. The patients were already on dopaminergic therapy and were randomized to rasagiline 1 mg/day or placebo. The primary endpoint, measured at 6 months, was the change in the Scales for Outcomes of Parkinson's Disease-Cognition total score.

The primary outcome was no different between rasagiline and placebo. Scores of the Montreal Cognitive Assessmen…

Reviewing Author

Michael S. Okun, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardParkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America

Speaker’s BureauMedscape/WebMD CME, Movement Disorders Society CME, American Academy of Neurology CME

RoyaltiesBooks4Patients; Demos; Cambridge; Taylor and Francis; Robert Rose; Public Affairs

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health; Parkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America; University of Florida Foundation

Editorial BoardsTremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements; JAMA Neurology

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesParkinson’s Foundation (Medical Advisor)