Cognitive Drug Research Shows Promising Improvement in Parkinson's Patients

Results from a new study published in the December issue of New England Journal of Medicine, show that the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) Power of Attention composite score identified a marked and highly significant (p=0.009) improvement over placebo in Parkinson's disease patients with dementia (PDD).

"Rivastigmine for Dementia Associated with Parkinson's Disease", is the first large-scale, prospective, placebo-controlled trial to demonstrate statistically significant cognitive benefits on a range of measures in PDD patients.

"We're very proud to have been involved in this large novel study," said Professor Keith Wesnes, founder of CDR.

"The range of improvements to various aspects of attention was large and would have a clear everyday benefit to the patients. This trial is also extremely important as it indicates that certain treatments for Alzheimer's disease can also be applied to PDD patients," he went on to say.

In a follow-up editorial published in the same issue, Daniel Z. Press, M.D. commented that one of the primary measures in the study, the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale, may have underestimated the clinical improvement due to its lack of sensitivity to the deficits in PDD patients.

Dr. Press also remarked that the CDR Power of Attention composite was one of the measures that would be more sensitive and wrote " ... did show a more substantial improvement".

In addition, a study published in The Lancet in 2000 also showed improvements to CDR attention measures when rivastigmine was administered to patients with Dementia with Lewy Bodies.

The CDR System is used to assess specific areas of cognitive function that include attention, working memory and episodic secondary memory.

The system is fully automated and the computer controls stimuli presentation, automatically captures data, and prepares the data for processing.

Most importantly, the test subject is only required to interact with a specially designed response box and does not require any prior computer knowledge. The CDR Attention Test Battery takes between 5 and 7 minutes to perform.

About Cognitive Drug Research, Ltd.

Founded in 1986, Cognitive Drug Research Ltd. (CDR) is the world's leading provider of innovative cognitive function assessment technology and services to the pharmaceutical industry.

CDR combines innovative technology and validated psychometric tests to definitively measure the effects of pharmaceuticals on the mental efficiency of volunteers and patients in clinical trials.

CDR is a privately held company with headquarters in the Goring-on-Thames, U.K. and a sales office in New Jersey, U.S.A. Additional information about CDR can be found by visiting the company's website on http://www.cdr.org.uk or via email at info@cdr.org.uk. CDR can also be reached on +44 (0) 1491 878700