Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026
12:18
A Machine Learning Approach to Design an Efficient Selective Screening of Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: January 11, 2020
[Medication review for dementia patients]
Karl-Peter Jahns1, Ingo Kilimann, Christoph A Ritter
1Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, Institut für Pharmazie, Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Strasse 17, 17487 Greifswald.
Medizinische Monatsschrift Fur Pharmazeuten
|March 29, 2012
Summary
Medication review for dementia patients identified drug-related issues. Switching from risperidone to quetiapine resolved psychiatric symptoms in a patient with Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia.
Area of Science:
- Geriatric Medicine
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
Context:
- Increasing prevalence of dementia due to demographic shifts presents significant healthcare challenges.
- Medication management in patients with co-existing Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia requires careful consideration.
- Adverse events can arise from medication adjustments, necessitating thorough review.
Purpose:
- To report on a medication review for a patient with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia.
- To analyze the adverse psychiatric event following risperidone interruption.
- To evaluate alternative antipsychotic medications and select an optimal treatment.
Summary:
- A patient with Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia experienced severe psychiatric symptoms after risperidone was stopped instead of dose-reduced.
- A case conference considered various antipsychotics, including pipamperon, melperon, haloperidol, risperidone, clozapine, olanzapine, aripiprazol, and quetiapine.
- Quetiapine was chosen due to its short half-life and minimal anticholinergic effects, successfully managing the patient's condition.
Impact:
- Highlights the critical need for comprehensive medication reviews in dementia care.
- Demonstrates the potential for adverse drug events even with limited prescriptions.
- Emphasizes the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in resolving complex patient cases.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...
01:28Drug Therapy
The advent of drug therapy has profoundly shaped modern mental health care, providing targeted treatments for a range of psychological disorders. Psychotherapeutic drugs, classified into antianxiety, antidepressant, and antipsychotic medications, address symptoms across anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and schizophrenia. While these medications have transformed patient outcomes, they require careful management due to their potential side effects and limitations.
Antianxiety Medications
Antianxiety Medications
01:27Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...
01:22Alzheimer's Disease: Treatment
Alzheimer's Disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder, is pathologically identified by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles composed of tau protein. AD pharmacotherapy aims to manage cognitive symptoms, delay disease progression, and treat behavioral symptoms. The treatment is primarily symptomatic and palliative, with no definitive disease-modifying therapy available. Cholinesterase inhibitors, including donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), and galantamine (Razadyne), are...
01:18Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Excretion
In geriatric patients, renal physiology undergoes significant changes, including diminished renal blood flow and a lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR), leading to alterations in medication clearance. Drugs such as aminoglycoside antibiotics, lithium, and digoxin, which rely on glomerular filtration for removal from the body, particularly impact pharmacokinetics. These drugs tend to have slower clearance rates in older adults, necessitating careful dosage considerations.Evaluation of renal...
01:30Dementia
Dementia is a collective term for cognitive disorders primarily affecting memory, thinking, and reasoning. It is not a specific disease but a syndrome, with Alzheimer's disease being the most common cause, accounting for approximately 60-80% of cases. Other types include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Dementia affects millions worldwide, particularly older adults, though it is not a normal part of aging.
The progression of dementia is generally gradual.
The progression of dementia is generally gradual.