Alzheimer's in Long-Term Care--Treatment for Agitation

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Alzheimer Disease
Psychomotor Agitation

Interventions: Drug: prazosin
Drug: placebo (inert substance)

Registration Number: NCT00161473

Lead Sponsor: University of Washington

Brief Summary: The purpose of this study is to see if a medication called prazosin is useful in the treatment of agitation and aggression in persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other types of dementia in late life.

Detailed Description: Although the occurrence of disruptive agitation behaviors likely are influenced by environmental/ interpersonal factors, it is also likely that behaviorally relevant neurobiologic abnormalities lower the threshold for the expression of such behavior in Alzheimer's disease. Because of the success prazosin has had in the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, it is thought that it could be used similarly with disruptive agitation. Originally designed to evaluate Alzheimer's disease patients in nursing homes, the study now includes outpatients. It is a 9-week placebo-controlled trial.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 24

Inclusion Criteria

No age limit
probable/possible Alzheimer's disease diagnosis
disruptive agitated behaviors (e.g., irritability, aggression, uncooperativeness, pacing)
no hypotension
no concurrent use of alpha-1-blockers
no delirium, schizophrenia, mania, psychotic symptoms.

Exclusion Criteria

Cardiovascular: unstable angina, recent myocardial infarction, second or third degree atrioventricular (AV) block, preexisting hypotension (systolic blood pressure less than 110) or orthostatic hypotension
Other medical exclusions: chronic renal or hepatic failure, or any unstable medical condition
Exclusionary medications: current treatment with prazosin, other alpha-1-blockers
Current enrollment in a separate investigational drug trial
Psychoactive medications: subjects may be psychoactive medication-free or be partial responders (by subjective assessment of referring health care professional) to one psychoactive medication from any of the following classes: antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, mood stabilizers, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, or buspirone. Partial response is defined as some improvement in agitated behavior but persistence of agitated behaviors severe enough to cause patient distress and/or difficulty with caregiving. Although not formally rated, this improvement is equivalent to a Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC) rating of no more than minimal improvement (improvement is noticed by not enough to improve patient function or caregiver's practical management of the patient).
Psychiatric/behavioral: lifetime schizophrenia; current delirium, mania, depression, or uncontrolled persistent distressing psychotic symptoms (hallucinations, delusions), substance abuse, panic disorder, or any behavior which poses an immediate danger to patient or others or which results in the patient being too uncooperative to meet the requirements of study participation.

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
prazosin	prazosin	-
placebo (inert substance)	placebo (inert substance)	-

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Mean Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC) at Last Observation	Week 8	The Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC) is a 7 point scale, where 1 indicates "markedly improved," 4 indicates "no change," and 7 indicates "markedly worse."
Change in Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Total Score Over the Course of Study Participation	Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 (change from Baseline)	The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) is a 12-item scale that assesses the frequency and severity of behavioral symptoms in patients with dementia. Each Neuropsychiatric Inventory item ranges from 0 to 12. Therefore the Neuropsychiatric Inventory total score has a minimum total value of 0 and maximum 144, where 144 indicates higher levels of behavioral symptoms. A change in Neuropsychiatric Inventory total score that is a negative number (that is, an Neuropsychiatric Inventory score decrease), indicates behavioral improvement.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of Behavioral Assessment Visits Completed	Last behavioral assessment (Baseline, Weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8)	This measure reflects the length of time participants remained in the study. There were 6 behavioral assessment visits included in the protocol.
Change in Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) Total Score Over the Course of Study Participation	Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 (change from Baseline)	The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is an 18-item scale that rates psychiatric symptoms. Each item ranges from 1 to 7. Therefore, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale total score ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 126, where 126 indicates higher levels of behavioral symptoms. A change Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score that is a negative number (that is, a Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score decrease), indicates behavioral improvement.