Psychosis in Alzheimer ’s Disease

AbstractPurpose of ReviewTo review the incidence, treatment and genetics of psychosis in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer ’s disease (AD).Recent FindingsPsychosis in Alzheimer ’s disease (AD) has an incidence of ~ 10% per year. There is limited evidence regarding psychological interventions. Pharmacological management has focused on atypical antipsychotics, balancing modest benefits with evidence of long-term harms. The 5HT2A inverse agonist pimavanserin appears to co nfer benefit in PD psychosis with initial evidence of benefit in AD. Cholinesterase inhibitors give modest benefits in DLB psychosis. The utility of muscarinic agonists, lithium, glutamatergic and noradrenergic modulators needs further study.SummaryRecent work has confirmed the importance of psychosis in MCI as well as AD. The lack of evidence regarding psychological therapies is an urgent knowledge gap, but there is encouraging evidence for emerging pharmacological treatments. Genetics will provide an opportunity for precision medicine and new treatment targets.

Source: Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports - October 13, 2020 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research