Pharmacologic treatment of noncognitive behavioral disturbances in elderly demented patients.

Fifty-nine elderly residents of long-term care facilities who had DSM-III diagnoses of dementia were studied in an 8-week randomized, double-blind comparison trial of haloperidol, oxazepam, and diphenhydramine to test the efficacy of these agents in the treatment of clinically significant behavioral disturbances in patients with dementia. All three agents demonstrated modest but significant efficacy as measured by clinician ratings of agitated behavior and activities of daily living. The absolute magnitude of improvement was greater for haloperidol and diphenhydramine than for oxazepam, but differences among groups did not approach statistical significance.

Clinical stages of dementia and the dexamethasone suppression test.

Unlabelled: 1. This study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between clinical aspects of primary degenerative dementia and suppression or non-suppression in the dexamethasone suppression test. 2.