Aggressive behavior and neuroleptic medication are associated with increased number of alpha1-adrenoceptors in patients with Alzheimer disease

Objective: Aggressive behavior in dementia is a major clinical management problem. Method: Postmortem brain tissue was obtained from 24 patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and 25 comparison cases. [H-3] Prazosin binding to alpha(1)-AdR was determined. Results: Aggressive behavior was significantly correlated with alpha(1)-adrenoceptor number in patients with AD (R-s = 0.454, N = 24). Furthermore, patients receiving ongoing neuroleptics had significantly higher B-max for [H-3] prazosin (21 +/- 2, N = 9) than those who were not (16 +/- 1, N = 15). Conclusions: Upregulation of alpha(1)-AdR is associated with aggressive behavior and chronic treatment with neuroleptic medication.