30 January 2012
Di Giacopo R,
Fasano A,
Quaranta D,
Marca GD,
Bove F,
Bentivoglio
AR
Background: We
report on a double-blind, crossover pilot trial for the treatment of
rapid eye movement behavior disorder (RBD) in 12 patients with
Parkinson's disease in whom conventional therapy failed.
Methods: We
employed a patch of the cholinesterase inhibitor rivastigmine at a dose
of 4.6 mg/24 hours for 3 weeks compared with placebo to reduce the
frequency of RBD episodes. The number of RBD episodes was monitored by
diaries of bed partners.
Results: Rivastigmine
was well tolerated in most patients, with minor side effects, mainly
related to peripheral cholinergic action, and significantly reduced the
mean frequency of RBD episodes during the observation time.
Conclusions: The results of this pilot trial need to be confirmed by further studies on a larger number of patients.
