PubMedAmerican journal of translational research2026-10-25
Effects of butylphthalide plus donepezil on symptoms, cognitive function, and oxidative stress in patients with cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease.
Li Ni N, Li Yuqin Y, He Xuebing X, Huang Shungui S
To investigate the effects of butylphthalide combined with donepezil on clinical symptoms, cognitive function, and oxidative stress in patients with cognitive impairment associated with Parkinson's disease (PD).
A total of 119 patients with PD-associated cognitive impairment who were admitted to Chengdu Sixth People's Hospital (Donghong Branch) were retrospectively included and divided into two groups. Both groups received levodopa and benserazide hydrochloride as basic treatment. In addition, patients in the control group (n = 55) received donepezil, and those in the research group (n = 64) received butylphthalide combined with donepezil. The two groups were compared in terms of therapeutic efficacy, clinical symptoms (assessed by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale [UPDRS]), cognitive function (Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA]), activities of daily living (ADLs; ADL scale), neurotransmitter levels (dopamine [DA], gamma-aminobutyric acid [GABA], 5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]), neurotrophic factors (neurotrophin-3 [NT-3], nerve growth factor [NGF]), oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase [SOD], malondialdehyde [MDA]), adverse events, and quality of life (QoL; the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey [SF-36]). Furthermore, exploratory subgroup analyses were performed according to Hoehn-Yahr staging (H-Y staging) and baseline MoCA scores.
Compared to the control group, patients in the research group exhibited much higher overall response rate, lower post-treatment UPDRSII, UPDRSIII, and MDA levels, and higher MoCA scores, ADL scores, DA, GABA, 5-HT, NT-3, NGF, SOD levels, and SF-36 scores. The overall incidence of adverse events was comparable between groups. Neither H-Y staging nor baseline MoCA scores significantly affected the efficacy of the combination therapy.
Butylphthalide combined with donepezil may exert beneficial effects on symptom improvement, cognitive function enhancement, and oxidative stress regulation in patients with PD-associated cognitive impairment.