Affiliations: [a] Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK | [b] John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, UK | [c] PET Center, Aarkhus University, Denmark
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Dr Alison Yarnall, Institute of Neuroscience, Clinical Ageing Research Unit, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5PL, UK. Tel.: +44 191 208 1279; Fax: +44 191 208 1250; E-mail: alison.yarnall@newcastle.ac.uk
Note: [1] These authors contributed equally.
Note: [2] The author has sincemoved and his permanent address is School
of Medicine, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia.
Abstract: We evaluated the effect of anticholinergic burden on 219 participants with incident Parkinson’s disease (PD) and 99 controls at study baseline and 18 months. Anticholinergic burden for each individual was calculated and summed according to the Anticholinergic Drug Scale (ADS). Medication with anticholinergic activity was more commonly prescribed in PD compared to controls, although mean ADS scores were not significantly different. Cognitive scores did not differ in PD participants taking medications with anticholinergic activity compared to those who were not. Low overall ADS scores due to increased awareness of adverse effects of medications and brevity of follow-up are potential explanations.
