Effect of Butylphthalide soft capsules on cognitive function and dementia-related factors in elderly patients with Parkinson’s disease dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective: To observe the effect of Butylphthalide soft capsules on improving cognitive function, activity of daily living, and dementia-related factors of elderly patients with Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: The clinical data of 126 elderly patients with PDD admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University during the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were assigned to a control group (conventional clinical treatment, n=50) and a research group (conventional clinical treatment combined with Butylphthalide soft capsules, n=76). The clinical response, clinical symptoms, cognitive function, activity of daily living (ADL), cerebral blood flow velocity, serum inflammatory factors, oxidative stress indices, neurotrophic factors, dementia-related factors, and drug safety were analyzed and compared between the two groups. Results: The overall response rate was significantly higher in the research group than in the control group (97.37% vs. 84.00%, P=0.017). After treatment, the clinical symptom-based scores and levels of serum inflammatory factors, malondialdehyde, and Parkinson disease protein 7 were significantly lower in the research group than in the control group (all P<0.001); the cognitive function and ADL scores, cerebral blood flow velocities, and levels of catalase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, neurotrophic factors, and neurotrophin-3 were significantly higher in the research group (all P<0.001). The incidence of adverse reactions was comparable between the two groups (4.00% vs. 6.58%, P=0.825). Conclusion: Butylphthalide soft capsules have a definite effect and good safety in elderly patients with PDD during the COVID-19 pandemic.