A randomized, double-blind, crossover comparison of risperidone and haloperidol in Korean dementia patients with behavioral disturbances.

Objective: Behavioral disturbances in dementia are extremely prominent and distressful, and often result in serious physical, social, and economic consequences. The authors compared the efficacy and tolerability of risperidone and haloperidol in the treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in institutionalized elderly Korean patients with Alzheimer disease, vascular dementia, or mixed dementia.

Methods: This was an 18-week double-blind, crossover study involving 120 patients who were randomly assigned to receive flexible doses (0.