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Editorial commentary
Neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia: are pharmacological treatments effective and safe?
  1. Andrew H Ford
  1. Correspondence to Dr Andrew H Ford, WA Centre for Health & Ageing, Centre for Medical Research & School of Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences (M573), University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, WA 6009, Australia; andrew.ford{at}uwa.edu.au
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2014-308420

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    Dementia affects approximately 5% of people over the age of 65. While cognitive impairment is central to the dementia concept, non-cognitive symptoms invariably occur at some point in the illness. These neuropsychiatric symptoms are diverse in nature but are associated with a number of adverse outcomes for the individual and their caregivers. Management of these symptoms can be difficult and can initially include a range of non-pharmacological approaches. Pharmacological approaches are usually reserved for more severe presentations and their use should include a thorough risk–benefit appraisal and discussion with the patient/caregiver. A number of medications are used in the …

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    • Competing interests None.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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