Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-cphqk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-09T14:29:10.772Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Buspirone for the treatment of dementia with behavioral disturbance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2017

Maria R. Santa Cruz ,
Priscilla C. Hidalgo ,
Meredith S. Lee ,
Cornelius W. Thomas  and
Suzanne Holroyd
Maria R. Santa Cruz
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Priscilla C. Hidalgo
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Meredith S. Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Cornelius W. Thomas
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia, USA
Suzanne Holroyd*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Suzanne Holroyd Professor, Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, 1115 20th St. Suite 205, Huntington WV 25703, USA. Phone: +304-691-1550; Fax: +304-523-4358. Email: [email protected].
Get access

Abstract

Behavioral disturbances are common but serious symptoms in patients with dementia. Currently, there are no FDA approved drugs for this purpose. There have been case reports and small case series of the use of buspirone. In this retrospective study, we review 179 patients prescribed buspirone for treatment of behavioral disturbance in dementia to better characterize the efficacy and potential side effects. All patients prescribed buspirone for behavioral disturbance due to dementia from a geropsychiatric outreach program were reviewed. Data was collected and analyzed using SPSS. One hundred-seventy-nine patients met criteria for the study with a mean age of 83.8 + 7. Alzheimer's dementia was the most common dementia (n = 61; 34.1%) followed by mixed dementia (n = 50, 27.9%) then vascular type (n = 31; 17.3%). Behavioral disturbances were mainly verbal aggression (n = 125; 69.8%), and physical aggression (n = 116; 64.8%). Using the Clinical Global Impression scale, 68.6% of patients responded to buspirone, with 41.8% being moderately to markedly improved. The mean dose of buspirone was 25.7 mg ± 12.50. Buspirone appears to be effective in treating behavioral disturbances in dementia. Future prospective and double blinded studies are needed.

Keywords

buspironedementiabehavioral disturbanceAlzheimer's
Type
Brief Report
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 29 , Issue 5 , May 2017 , pp. 859 - 862
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cantillon, M. et al. (1996). Buspirone vs. haloperidol: a double-blind trial for agitation in a nursing home population with Alzheimer's disease. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 4, 263–267.Google Scholar
Cohen-Mansfield, J. (2008). Agitated behavior in persons with dementia: the relationship between type of behavior, its frequency, and its disruptiveness. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 43, 64–9.Google Scholar
Colenda III, C. (1998). Buspirone in treatment of agitated demented patient. Lancet, 1, 8595, 1169.Google Scholar
Cooper, J. P. (2003). Buspirone for anxiety and agitation in dementia. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 28, 6.Google Scholar
Desai, A. et al. (2012). Behavioral disturbance in dementia. Current Psychiatry Reports, 14, 298–309.Google Scholar
Devanand, D. P. et al. (2012). Relapse risk after discontinuation of risperidone in Alzheimer's disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 367, 16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Porsteinsson, A. P. (2014). Effect of citalopram on agitation in Alzheimer disease: the CitAD randomized clinical trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 311, 682–691.Google Scholar
Sadowsky, C. et al. (2012). Guidelines for the management of cognitive and behavioral problems with dementia. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 25, 350–366.Google Scholar
Schneider, L. S. et al. (1990). A metaanalysis of controlled trials of neuroleptic treatment in dementia. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 38, 553–563.Google Scholar
Seitz, D. P. et al. (2011). Antidepressants for agitation and psychosis in dementia. Cochrane Database Systematic Review, 2, CD008191. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008191.pub2.___.Google Scholar
Smith, D. et al. (1992). Non-neuroleptic treatment of disruptive behavior in organic mental syndromes. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 26, 1400–1488.Google Scholar
Sourial, R. et al. (2001). Agitation in demented patients in an acute care hospital: prevalence, disruptiveness, and staff burden. International Psychogeriatrics, 13, 183–197.Google Scholar
Tariot, P. (1997). Treatment of agitation in dementia. New Directions for Mental Health Services, 76, 109–123.Google Scholar
Weintraub, D. (2015). Time to response in citalopram treatment for agitation in Alzheimer disease. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 11, 1127–1133.Google Scholar
Yeh, Y. C. and Ouyand, W. C. (2012). Mood stabilizers for the treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia: an update review. Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences, 28, 185–93.Google Scholar