5 mg twice daily after 8 weeks. Patients who developed side effects at any stage were either left on the same dose for 2 or more weeks or TSA HDAC mw had their daily dose reduced to the previous level. We tried to keep the dose of rivastigmine constant at the maximal tolerated dose between week 8 and week 12 of the trial, the point at which administration of the drug was stopped. 2.3 Clinical Evaluations The patients were assessed at baseline (week 0), shortly after the termination of rivastigmine medication (week 12), and after a 4-week washout period (week 16). Each assessment included evaluation of the subject’s general condition together with registration

of vital functions and side effects. Also included were the scores of the MMSE [18], the short form of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) [19], the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC) for measuring the level of fear of falling [20], and the State-Trait Anxiety PF-4708671 research buy Inventory (STAI) [21]. Cognitive performance was assessed using Mindstreams, a computerized neuropsychological battery, which includes tests for the domains of memory, attention, executive, visual-spatial functions and global cognitive function [22]. All cognitive scores in GSK1838705A price Mindstreams are normalized, where 100 is the mean and one SD is 15 points for matched age and education levels (we therefore used cutoff scores <85 to denote impairment). 2.4 Gait Assessment The Timed Up

and Go (TUG) test [23] was administered

for a general assessment of balance, mobility, lower extremity function, and fall risk [24, 25]. A computerized force-sensitive system was used to quantify gait and stride-to-stride variability [26]. The system measures the forces underneath the foot as a function of time and consists of a pair of insoles (footswitch) and a recording unit. Each insole contains four load sensors that cover the surface of the sole and measure the normal (vertical) forces under the foot. A small recording unit (11.5 × 6.5 × 3.5 cm; 0.5 kg) is carried on the subject’s waist. Plantar pressures MycoClean Mycoplasma Removal Kit under each foot are recorded at a rate of 100 Hz. Measurements are stored in a memory card during the walk, after which they are transferred to a personal computer for further analysis. Average stride time and stride time variability were determined from the recorded force using previously described methods [27, 28]. Variability measures were quantified by means of the coefficient of variation, e.g. stride-time variability = 100 × (average stride time/standard deviation). 2.5 Statistics The descriptive step included a calculation of mean and standard deviation. All numeric variables were analyzed using repeated measures. One-way multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to compare the three assessments on weeks 0, 12, and 16. In all cases, the post hoc Pillai’s trace test was considered as robust to investigate significant differences.