THE EFFECT OF DEPRENYL AND TOCOPHEROL ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN EARLY UNTREATED PARKINSONS-DISEASE

We conducted prospective cognitive assessments over 14 +/- 6 (mean +/- SD) months of observation as part of the multicenter trial Deprenyl and Tocopherol Antioxidative Therapy of Parkinsonism (DATATOP), which involved 800 patients with early untreated Parkinson's disease. We administered tests that measured memory, visuospatial, and frontal lobe functions. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive placebo, deprenyl (10 mg/d), tocopherol (2,000 IU/d), or both deprenyl and tocopherol. We analyzed treatment effects using annualized rates of cognitive change. We performed exploratory analyses to identify potential clinical and demographic correlates of cognitive performance. There was no significant effect of either deprenyl or tocopherol on cognitive test performance. In early untreated Parkinson's disease, cognitive performance appears to be stable and unrelated to either motor deterioration or treatment with deprenyl or tocopherol.