Scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment as a predictor of cognitive decline in healthy elderly volunteers: a 6-year follow-up

OBJECTIVE: To determine if scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment in healthy elderly people predicts cognitive decline 6 years later. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Elderly care research unit. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy elderly people who were part of a volunteer panel of research subjects. INTERVENTIONS: Scopolamine 0.2 mg administered subcutaneously at baseline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cognitive drug research computerized cognitive testing battery pre- and post-scopolamine, with repeat testing over 6 years later. MAIN RESULTS: 16/24 subjects were retested. Although marked decrements in cognitive functioning were seen with scopolamine, there was little change in performance over 6 years, and no significant association was seen between scopolamine-induced decrement and change over time. CONCLUSIONS: The scopolamine challenge test is not likely to play a role in the preclinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.