[Demonstrating the effectiveness of cerebroactive drugs in aged patients. Results of a randomized double-blind study of a vincamine containing special preparation].

The neuropsychiatric symptoms of old patients with disturbed cerebral metabolism or blood flow mostly lead to great individual difficulties and make those patients difficult to handle: in the family as well as in hospital such patients develop alienation, isolation and therefore adaptation to a social structure deteriorates with time. In the course of a test program for medicinal therapy of this syndrome we studied the efficacy of a vincamine containing formulation (Pervincamin forte retard or Pervincamin ampoules, respectively) on the symptoms of a chronical brain disturbance. The study was randomised double-blind. We found that under the influence of the vincamine formulation the subjective symptoms, such as lack of interest, apathy, aggressiveness, raging, psychomotoric retardation, lack of concentration, dysmnesia, decreased with a statistical significance (p less than or equal to 0.05). Also the subjective symptoms, reported by the patients, such as tinnitus and vertigo decreased significantly under the treatment with the vincamine preparation. Therefore some of the parameters important for resocialisation and revitalisation of old patients could be influenced in a favourable way. Basing on the good results of our investigations, the treatment of psychiatric disturbances in old patients with vincamine containing drugs seems to be justified.