We examined the effects of anticholinergic medication on memory function
in 113 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Subjects were
divided into three disease duration groups: early, middle, and advanced.
The battery consisted of three tasks assessing memory of logical discourse,
semantically related words, and figural material. We found no evidence of
anticholinergic-induced memory dysfunction in any of the three groups.
Analysis of covariance indicated that age was not a significant variable;
however, dementia may have influenced the relationship between
anticholinergic medication and memory scores. Our results indicate that
anticholinergic medication does not uniformly compromise memory function in
PD patients.Abstract Teaser