Centre for Policy on Ageing



Treating behavioural and psychological signs in Alzheimer's disease — the evidence for current pharmacological treatments is not strong
Author(s)	Clive Ballard, John O'Brien
Journal title	British Medical Journal, vol 319, 17 July 1999
Pages	pp 139-140
Keywords	Dementia ; Symptoms ; Behaviour disorders ; Drugs ; Research Reviews.
Annotation	More than 90% of patients with dementia experience a "behaviour disturbance", often referred to as behavioural or psychological signs in dementia in accordance with the recommendations of the International Psychogeriatric Association. Managing these signs of dementia is a major problem for healthcare professionals, as dementia sufferers have a particularly high risk of adverse treatment responses. Neuroleptic drugs, the main pharmacological treatment, have many harmful side effects. These include parkinsonism, drowsiness, tardive dyskinesia, falls, accelerated cognitive decline, and severe neuroleptic sensitivity reactions. Better evidence is required before individual pharmacological agents are licensed specifically for managing behavioural or psychological signs of dementia. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-990728240 A
Classmark	EA: CT: EP: LLD: 3A:6KC *
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.