Acute mood effect of donepezil in young, healthy volunteers
Abstract
Objective
Chronic use of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil has been found to improve mood or to induce mania/hypomania in many neuropsychiatric patients with altered cholinergic and dopaminergic tone. Our aim was to determine whether acutely administered donepezil would alter mood in volunteers with no such alterations.
Methods
This investigation was a double‐blind, crossover design study of 15 young, healthy male participants who were allocated in random order to three oral treatments: placebo and 5‐mg and 7.5‐mg donepezil (doses which exert clinical and acute cognitive effects without considerable peripheral side effects). At the theoretical peak‐plasma concentrations of donepezil, volunteers rated how they felt on validated questionnaires, which included various dimensions of subjective feelings. We also assessed changes in brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is increased by donepezil after chronic regimes and is related to modulation of mood.
Results
Donepezil significantly increased ratings of vigour and anxiety symptoms (medium effect sizes). No changes in bodily symptoms or BDNF were observed.
Conclusions
Acute donepezil administration in participants with unaltered cholinergic and dopaminergic tone led to positive and negative changes in affect. These results call for further research on the direct mood effects of donepezil. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Number of times cited: 2
- Ana Hategan and James A. Bourgeois, Donepezil-associated manic episode with psychotic features: a case report and review of the literature, General Hospital Psychiatry, 38, (115.e1), (2016).
- Leon Tourian, Howard C. Margolese and Serge Gauthier, Donepezil-Associated Mania in Two Patients Who Were Using Donepezil Without a Prescription, Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 34, 6, (753), (2014).
