Lavretsky, Helen, Siddarth, Prabha, Irwin, Michael R.

Background: This study examined the potential of an antidepressant drug, escitalopram, to improve depression, resilience to stress, and quality of life in family dementia caregivers in a randomized placebo-controlled double-blinded trial.; Methods: Forty family caregivers (43-91 years of age, 25 children and 15 spouses; 26 women) who were taking care of their relatives with Alzheimer […]

Squitieri, Ferdinando, Orobello, Sara, Cannella, Milena, Martino, Tiziana, Romanelli, Pantaleo, Giovacchini, Giampiero, Frati, Luigi, Mansi, Luigi, Ciarmiello, Andrea

Purpose: Huntington disease (HD) mutation increases gain-of-toxic functions contributing to glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity. Riluzole interferes with glutamatergic neurotransmission, thereby reducing excitotoxicity, enhancing neurite formation in damaged motoneurons and increasing serum concentrations of BDNF, a brain cortex neurotrophin protecting striatal neurons from degeneration.; Methods: We investigated metabolic and volumetric differences in distinct brain areas between 11 riluzole-treated […]

Rappaport, Stephen A., Marcus, Ronald N., Manos, George, McQuade, Robert D., Oren, Dan A.

Objectives: To evaluate the tolerability of intramuscular (IM) aripiprazole in patients with agitation associated with dementia.; Design: A 24-hour, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study.; Setting: Sixteen healthcare facilities in the United States.; Participants: A total of 129 patients with acute agitation associated with Alzheimer’s, vascular or mixed dementia in healthcare facilities.; Intervention: Patients were randomized to […]

Petrella, J. R., Prince, S. E., Krishnan, S., Husn, H., Kelley, L., Doraiswamy, P. M.

Background and Purpose: Cholinesterase-inhibitor therapy is approved for treatment of Alzheimer disease; however, application in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is still under active investigation. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of such therapy on the neural substrates underlying memory processing in subjects with MCI by using functional MR imaging […]

Lu, P. H., Edland, S. D., Teng, E., Tingus, K., Petersen, R. C., Cummings, J. L.

Objective: To determine whether the presence of depression predicts higher rate of progression to Alzheimer disease (AD) in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and whether donepezil treatment beneficially affect this relationship.; Methods: The study sample was composed of 756 participants with aMCI from the 3-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study drug trial […]

Leyhe, Thomas, Eschweiler, Gerhard W., Stransky, Elke, Gasser, Thomas, Annas, Peter, Basun, Hans, Laske, Christoph

Preclinical and clinical studies gave evidence that lithium could be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In experimental investigations, lithium induces brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Recent studies have found a decrease of BDNF in the serum and brains of AD patients with potentially consecutive lack of neurotrophic support. We assessed the influence of […]

Gehrman, Philip R., Connor, Donald J., Martin, Jennifer L., Shochat, Tamar, Corey-Bloom, Jody, Ancoli-Israel, Sonia

Objectives: Patients with Alzheimer dementia often display both agitated behavior and poor sleep. Given that the disease is often associated with low endogenous levels of melatonin, exogenous melatonin administration may lead to improvements in sleep and agitation.; Design: Randomized, placebo-controlled study.; Setting: Nursing homes in San Diego, CA, metropolitan area.; Participants: Subjects were patients with […]

Romeo, R., Knapp, M., Hellier, J., Dewey, M., Ballard, C., Baldwin, R., Bentham, P., Burns, A., Fox, C., Holmes, C., Katona, C., Lawton, C., Lindesay, J., Livingston, G., McCrae, N., Moniz-Cook, E., Murray, J., Nurock, S., O'Brien, J., Poppe, M., Thomas, A., Walwyn, R., Wilson, K., Banerjee, S.

Background: Depression is a common and costly comorbidity in dementia. There are very few data on the cost-effectiveness of antidepressants for depression in dementia and their effects on carer outcomes.; Aims: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of sertraline and mirtazapine compared with placebo for depression in dementia.; Method: A pragmatic, multicentre, randomised placebo-controlled trial with a […]

Kim, Seong Yoon, Choi, Seong Hye, Rollema, Hans, Schwam, Elias M., McRae, Tom, Dubrava, Sarah, Jacobsen, Janice

Background: Evidence supports a role of α4β2 receptors in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).; Methods: This Korean, multicenter, double-blind, two-period (6 weeks each), crossover study randomized participants to the order in which they received varenicline (1 mg twice daily) and placebo. Assessments included AD Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog) 75, Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), adverse events (AEs) and Columbia-Suicide […]

Jesso, S., Morlog, D., Ross, S., Pell, M. D., Pasternak, S. H., Mitchell, D. G. V., Kertesz, A., Finger, E. C.

Patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia demonstrate abnormalities in behaviour and social cognition, including deficits in emotion recognition. Recent studies suggest that the neuropeptide oxytocin is an important mediator of social behaviour, enhancing prosocial behaviours and some aspects of emotion recognition across species. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of a […]