Comparative efficacy of risperidone versus haloperidol on behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia

Background Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) cannot be regarded as a single clinical syndrome, but rather as a heterogeneous group of symptoms, each of which can be considered as possible targets for therapy. Objective To compare the efficacy of risperidone and haloperidol on specific manifestations of BPSD. Methods A post-hoc analysis was conducted using data from an 18-week, randomized, double-blind, crossover head-to-head trial of risperidone vs haloperidol in treating 114 nursing-home residents with BPSD. Dependent variables were item scores of the Korean versions of the Behavioural Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale (BEHAVE-AD-K) and Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI-K). Results On the BEHAVE-AD-K, risperidone was significantly more effective than haloperidol in treating wandering (p = 0.0496), agitation (p = 0.0091), diurnal rhythm disturbances (p = 0.0137), anxiety regarding upcoming events (p = 0.0002), and other anxieties (p = 0.0088). On the CMAI-K, risperidone was significantly more effective in treating physical sexual advances (p = 0.0202), pacing and aimless wandering (p = 0.0123), intentional falling (p = 0.0398), hoarding things (p = 0.0499), performing repetitious mannerisms (p = 0.0048), repetitive sentence or questions (p = 0.0025), complaining (p = 0.0101), and negativism (p = 0.0027). Haloperidol was not significantly superior to risperidone on any individual item in either scale. Conclusions When comparing treatment effects on individual symptoms frequently occurring in patients with dementia, risperidone significantly improved symptoms of agitation, wandering, diurnal rhythm disturbance and anxieties, among other symptoms, compared with haloperidol. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.