Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • About
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Psychopharmacology

Antidepressant holds promise in treating Alzheimer’s agitation

by Johns Hopkins Medicine
February 19, 2014
in Psychopharmacology
Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Stay on top of the latest psychology findings: Subscribe now!

The antidepressant drug citalopram, sold under the brand names Celexa and Cipramil and also available as a generic medication, significantly relieved agitation in a group of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In lower doses than those tested, the drug might be safer than antipsychotic drugs currently used to treat the condition, according to results of a clinical trial led by Johns Hopkins researchers that included seven other academic medical centers in the United States and Canada.

For the study, reported in the Feb. 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Constantine Lyketsos, M.D., M.H.S., and his colleagues recruited 186 patients with Alzheimer’s who showed a collection of symptoms including emotional distress, excessive movement, aggression, disruptive irritability and disinhibition. None experienced adequate symptom relief with non-medical therapies, and some experienced failed treatment with antipsychotic drugs. Though antipsychotics are often used as first-line medications for Alzheimer’s-related agitation, they significantly increase the risk of strokes, heart attacks and death, Lyketsos says.

At the start of the study, patients also underwent tests to define the extent of their agitation, memory and other cognitive skills, and their caregivers’ stress levels, a factor strongly linked to the well-being of those with Alzheimer’s. The patients were then separated into two groups. For the next nine weeks, about half took increasing doses of citalopram that peaked at 30 milligrams per day, and the rest took an identical-looking placebo.

At the end of the study period, the same set of tests was given, along with electrocardiograms. The study drug is linked to adverse effects on heart function, including irregular heartbeat, a harbinger of a heart attack.

Results showed that patients on the drug had significant relief from their agitation symptoms, Lyketsos says. In one measure of agitation, about 40 percent of patients who took citalopram had “considerable relief,” compared to 26 percent of patients who took the placebo. The caregivers for these patients reported less stress.

However, patients on the drug were also more likely to have slightly decreased cognitive function. “It was not huge, but measureable,” says Lyketsos, director of the Johns Hopkins Memory and Alzheimer’s Treatment Center and director of the Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. “That introduces a tradeoff.”

More concerning, he adds, is that patients on citalopram had longer QTc intervals, a measure of abnormal heart function that increases the risk of heart attacks. However, Lyketsos says, antipsychotic medications also used to treat agitation increase heart attack risk as well, perhaps even more substantially.

Lyketsos and his colleagues hope to test if a lower dose of citalopram might be just as effective in treating Alzheimer’s-related agitation with less risk for cognition and heart function. In the meantime, he says, the drug offers an alternative to antipsychotics.

“If the agitation is not responding to non-medication treatments and your patient’s agitation isn’t improving, there are no great options,” Lyketsos says. “But here’s another medication choice that might be safer than other medications and seems to be just as effective.”

TweetSendScanShareSendPinShareShareShareShareShare

RELATED

Use of mescaline may facilitate unintended improvements in several psychiatric conditions, study suggests
Ayahuasca

Many ayahuasca users report challenging experiences—yet some are linked to better mental health

July 4, 2025

Are challenging ayahuasca experiences always harmful? Not necessarily, finds a new global survey. While some effects predict poorer mental health, others like visual distortions are linked to positive outcomes, highlighting the crucial role of context and individual vulnerability.

Read moreDetails
Taking medicinal cannabis oil for insomnia does not impair cognition on the following day
Cannabis

Cannabis oil might help with drug-resistant epilepsy, study suggests

July 2, 2025

Nineteen patients with drug-resistant epilepsy experienced seizure freedom after cannabis oil treatment, with a median seizure-free duration of 245 days. Five remained seizure-free for over a year, and most reported improved quality of life and reduced seizure frequency.

Read moreDetails
Psychedelic compound blurs boundary between self and others in the brain, study finds
Ayahuasca

Psychedelic compound blurs boundary between self and others in the brain, study finds

July 2, 2025

A recent study found that a DMT/harmine formulation blurs the brain’s distinction between self and other faces, disrupting self-referential processing while preserving recognition of familiar faces, suggesting a neural basis for psychedelic-induced ego dissolution.

Read moreDetails
Researchers identify neural mechanism behind memory prioritization
MDMA

New study reveals how MDMA rewires serotonin and oxytocin systems in the brain

June 30, 2025

Researchers found that MDMA reduces anxiety and enhances social behavior in zebrafish by altering key neurochemical systems. The drug suppressed serotonin signaling, boosted oxytocin receptor expression, and modulated brain signaling proteins involved in emotional regulation.

Read moreDetails
Stimulant medication improves working memory of children with ADHD, study finds
ADHD

New study exposes gap between ADHD drug use and safety research in children

June 30, 2025

A nationwide Finnish study shows that children with ADHD stay on medication for over three years on average. Yet, controlled safety data for these medications in children exists for only one year, highlighting a gap in long-term evidence.

Read moreDetails
Regular psychedelic users exhibit different brain responses to self-related thoughts, study finds
Neuroimaging

Regular psychedelic users exhibit different brain responses to self-related thoughts, study finds

June 28, 2025

A new study suggests that regular users of psychedelics may process self-related thoughts differently at both psychological and brain levels, revealing altered patterns of brain activity during self-reflection compared to non-users who intend to try psychedelics.

Read moreDetails
Can Acacia catechu and Scutellaria baicalensis extracts enhance brain function?
Dementia

Ashwagandha extract boosts memory and cognition in people with mild cognitive impairment, study finds

June 27, 2025

Researchers found that a standardized extract of ashwagandha improved memory, attention, and spatial reasoning in adults with mild cognitive impairment, outperforming a placebo in a two-month clinical trial with no reported side effects.

Read moreDetails
Psychedelic use linked to increased risk of unusual visual experiences
Ayahuasca

Study links moderate awe in psychedelic ayahuasca journeys to better well-being

June 21, 2025

A new study published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs suggests that while awe can be transformative during ayahuasca retreats, there’s a limit. Experiences marked by excessive vastness were linked to lower well-being, challenging assumptions about awe’s universal benefits.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

Go Ad-Free! Click here to subscribe to PsyPost and support independent science journalism!

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

Neuroscientists decode how people juggle multiple items in working memory

Inside the bored brain: Unlocking the power of the default mode network

Choline imbalance in the brain linked to with cognitive symptoms in young depression patients

Scientists who relocate more often start Nobel research up to two years earlier

Sedentary time linked to faster brain aging in older adults, study finds

People with short-video addiction show altered brain responses during decision-making

New study uncovers a surprising effect of cold-water immersion

Being adopted doesn’t change how teens handle love and dating

         
       
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
[Do not sell my information]

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy