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Clinically Significant Drug Interactions with Cholinesterase Inhibitors

A Guide for Neurologists

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Abstract

Cholinesterase inhibitors are the only pharmacological class indicated for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. These drugs are also being used off label to treat severe cases of Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia and other disorders. The widespread use of cholinesterase inhibitors raises the possibility of their use in combination regimens, with the subsequent risk of deleterious drug-drug interactions in high-risk populations. The purpose of this review is to present the possible sources of pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic drug-drug interactions involving cholinesterase inhibitors.

The four cholinesterase inhibitors (tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine) that are currently available have different pharmacological properties that expose patients to the risk of several types of drug interactions of nonequivalent clinical relevance. The principal proven clinically relevant drug interactions involve tacrine and drugs metabolised by the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A2 enzyme, as well as tacrine or donepezil and antipsychotics (which results in the appearance of parkinsonian symptoms). The bioavailability of galantamine is increased by coadministration with paroxetine, ketoconazole and erythromycin. It is of interest to note that because rivastigmine is metabolised by esterases rather than CYP enzymes, unlike the other cholinesterase inhibitors, it is unlikely to be involved in pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions. Care must be taken to reduce the risk of inducing central (excitation, agitation) or peripheral (e.g. bradycardia, loss of consciousness, digestive disorders) hypercholinergic effects via drug interactions with cholinesterase inhibitors.

A review of the literature does not reveal any alarming data but does highlight the need for prudent prescription, particularly when cholinesterase inhibitors are given in combination with psychotropics or antiarrhythmics. Possible interactions involving other often coprescribed antidementia agents (e.g. memantine, antioxidants, cognitive enhancers) remain an open area requiring particularly prudent use.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Dr Gerald Pope for his help with the English translation.

Preparation of this manuscript was done as a university activity, without any source of supplementary funding. The authors certify not to have conflicts of interest directly relevant to the content of this review, but Prof. H. Allain declares that he is a regular invited speaker by Janssen-Cilag, for which he receives honoraria.

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  1. Laboratoire de Pharmacologie, Faculté de Médecine, 2 avenue du Pr. Léon Bernard, CS 34317, 35043, Rennes, France

    Danièle Bentué-Ferrer, Olivier Tribut & Hervé Allain

  2. Centre Régional de Pharmacovigilance, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes, France

    Elisabeth Polard

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  1. Danièle Bentué-Ferrer
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Correspondence to Danièle Bentué-Ferrer.

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Bentué-Ferrer, D., Tribut, O., Polard, E. et al. Clinically Significant Drug Interactions with Cholinesterase Inhibitors. CNS Drugs 17, 947–963 (2003). https://doi.org/10.2165/00023210-200317130-00002

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