Donepezil and related cholinesterase inhibitors as mood and behavioral controlling agents.
Abstract
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) enhance neuronal transmission by increasing
the availability of acetylcholine in muscarinic and nicotinic receptors. This effect
is believed to be responsible for the beneficial and protective effects of ChEIs on
cognition in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Effects of ChEIs on mood and
behavior have also been reported. Earlier observations were limited by the exclusive
availability of intravenous forms of administration, the short half-life of the formulations,
and the high frequency of peripheral side effects. The introduction, in recent years,
of better tolerated and less invasive compounds has rekindled the interest in cholinergic
central nervous system mechanisms and has given rise to studies in areas other than
cognition. The ChEI donepezil has been involved in the largest number of studies and
positive reports. Preliminary observations suggest the possible value of ChEIs in
the management of behavioral dysregulation, apathy, irritability, psychosis, depression,
mania, tics, and delirium and in the diagnosis of depression, panic, and personality
disorders.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/8279Collections
More Info
Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Tal Burt
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Tal Burt, MD is a Board-Certified psychiatrist and clinical researcher trained in
Israel, Italy, France, and the United States. After joining the faculty at the Department
of Psychiatry at Columbia University, Dr. Burt joined Pfizer Inc., and then Eisai
Pharmaceuticals, as Senior Medical Director with responsibilities in all phases of
clinical research and development. He then joined Duke and was the founding director
of the Investigational Medicine Unit (IMU) in Singapore and th
This author no longer has a Scholars@Duke profile, so the information shown here reflects
their Duke status at the time this item was deposited.

Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy
Rights for Collection: Scholarly Articles
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info