Demographic and Neuropsychiatric Factors Associated With Off-label Medication Use in Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

Objectives:Off-label medication use for treating cognitive impairments and neuropsychiatric symptoms occurs in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer disease (AD). We compared the use of cognitive and psychiatric medications in FTD and AD and evaluated the relationship between neuropsychiatric symptoms and medication use. Methods:Cognitive and psychiatric medication use, demographic variables, and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) subscale symptoms were obtained from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set (n=3958, 8.1% FTD). Bivariate statistics and logistic regressions were calculated to evaluate which demographic or NPI subscale symptoms predicted medication use. Results:Although cognitive medication was used more commonly in AD (78%), it was also commonly used off-label in FTD (56%). Psychiatric medications were in greater use in FTD than in AD (68% vs. 45%, respectively, P
Source: Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders - Category: Geriatrics Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research