Research advances in a typical antipsychotics for the treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms in elderly patients with dementia

Dementia is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by cognitive impairment, and behavioral and psychological symptoms.Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are common in patients with dementia and can have a major impact on the quality of life for patients and caregivers, and accelerate their cognitive decline.Atypical antipsychotics (AAP) possess excellent efficacy and tolerability in BPSD treatment; however, compared with conventional drugs, the use of antipsychotics has been widely debated for concerns over safety in elderly patients with dementia.The US FDA has issued several specific recommendations and emphasized that treatment of BPSD with AAP is off-label . We have searched and reviewed the literature on the treatment of BPSD with AAP published in the last 10 years, and evaluated the efficacy and safety of AAP for clinicians’ reference. Key words: Antipsychotics; Dementia; Behavioral and psychological symptoms