Methylphenidate and the pathogenesis of apathy in dementia

Recruiting

Conditions: lack of initiative
emotional blunting
10012272

Registration Number: NL-OMON30740

Lead Sponsor: niversiteit Maastricht

Brief Summary: Not available

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Recruiting

Sex: Not specified

Target Recruitment: 37

Inclusion Criteria

-Dementia diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria for dementia
-Presence of a reliable informant
-Presence of apathy
-Capable to consent
-Informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

-If living in a nursing home at the start of the study
-Patients without a reliable informant
-Concurrent psychiatric disease
-Presence of agitation, irritability, and/or psychotic symptoms
-Use of pharmacological medication
-Use of vasopressors
-Abuse of alcohol and drugs

Study & Design

Study Type: Interventional

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
<p>Change in apathy score after the methylphenidate challenge (difference between<br /><br>before and after the challenge) compared to the change in score after the<br /><br>placebo condition as measured by the patient version of the Apathy Inventory<br /><br>(IA) </p><br>

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
<p>Change in cognitive and other behavioural scores after the methylphenidate<br /><br>challenge (difference between before and after the challenge) compared to the<br /><br>change in score after the placebo condition<br /><br><br /><br>* on the level of frontal related behaviour, as assessed by specific frontal<br /><br>related neuropsychological tests like the Verbal Fluency Test, the Stroop<br /><br>Colour Word Test and five tasks of the CANTAB.<br /><br><br /><br>* on the level of novelty seeking behaviour as assessed by a 15 minute<br /><br>observation of the patient.</p><br>