Agitation in Alzheimer's Disease

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Overview

Agitation affects 70 to 90 percent of patients with AD. Signs of agitation include verbal and physical aggressiveness, irritability, wandering, and restlessness. These behaviors often make caring for patients at home very difficult. Trazodone and haldol are two of the most commonly prescribed drugs for agitation in AD patients. Behavior management, a non drug approach, has been effective in reducing signs of agitation. Researchers have yet to compare the effectiveness of drug versus non drug therapy to treat agitation in AD patients and determine which is the best treatment. The Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, with funding from the National Institute on Aging, is conducting an agitation treatment program at 21 sites in 16 States. This study will assess which of the above treatments is most effective.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Conditions

Alzheimer Disease

Interventions

TrazodoneDRUG

HaloperidolDRUG

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 50 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Memory problem consistent with a probable diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) * Agitation symptoms for at least the past 2 weeks * Patient has caregiver who can participate * Patient lives in the same household as the caregiver

Locations (16)

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, United States

University of California, San Diego

San Diego, California, United States

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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