Loading...
Atypical antipsychotics are frequently prescribed for patients with Alzheimer disease based on results from small, short-term (6- to 12-week) efficacy trials. The 9-month, multisite Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness — Alzheimer’s Disease (CATIE-AD) is the only large-scale, longer-term, real-world, direct comparison of the most commonly used agents that has appeared to date. In CATIE-AD, 421 patients with Alzheimer disease and psychosis or agitated or aggressive behavior (mean age, 78) were randomized to olanzapine (2.5 or 5.0 mg), quetiapine (25.0 or 50.0 mg), risperidone (0.5 or 1.0 mg), or placebo.
Now, CATIE-AD researchers report the drugs’ effects on clinical symptoms in phase 1. In analyses of change from basel…