FEATURED Medical education topic: Neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia

More than 90% of patients with dementia develop new-onset neuropsychiatric symptoms, including apathy, agitation, aggression, anxiety, depression, night-time behaviors, irritability, hallucinations, delusions, and motor symptoms. Being able to identify and treat these symptoms is paramount to dementia care. There are a few new pharmacological treatments that have emerged within the past 5 years that providers should be aware of, especially for agitation. In addition, newer evidence-based guidance on older pharmacological and behavioral strategies is now available. This lecture will serve as a review and increase knowledge of current prescribing habits while suggesting newer approaches to deal with neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia.

Proposed Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this activity, the learners will be able to:

• Recognize neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia and have a basic understanding on how to use an etiological lens to diagnose and treat
• Discuss the risks and benefits of different pharmacological approaches to neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia with patients and families
• Increase confidence in promoting behavioral interventions as the first-line treatment for neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia.

If your medical staff needs an update on neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia, consider contacting our office to book a speaker at 877-505-4777 or info@speakersnetwork.com.

Download the PDF on this topic: http://speakersnetwork.com/forms/NeuropsychDementia.pdf

References:

Chen, A., Copeli, F., Metzger, E., Cloutier, A., and Osser, D.N. (2021). The Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project at the Harvard South Shore Program: An update on management of behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia. Psychiatry Research 295, 113641. 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113641.

Lanctôt, K.L., Ismail, Z., Bawa, K.K., Cummings, J.L., Husain, M., Mortby, M.E., and Robert, P. (2023). Distinguishing apathy from depression: A review differentiating the behavioral, neuroanatomic, and treatment‐related aspects of apathy from depression in neurocognitive disorders. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 38, e5882. 10.1002/gps.5882.

Lee, D., Clark, E.D., Antonsdottir, I.M., and Porsteinsson, A.P. (2023). A 2023 update on the advancements in the treatment of agitation in Alzheimer’s disease. Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy 24, 691–703. 10.1080/14656566.2023.2195539.