Current Agents in Development for Treating Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms Associated with Dementia

Behavioral and psychological symptoms associated with dementia are highly prevalent and are associated with an increased risk of institutionalization and mortality. Current pharmacological treatments for these symptoms include cholinesterase inhibitors, antipsychotics, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. When used for treating behavioral and psychological symptoms associated with dementia, they are associated with limited efficacy and/or serious adverse events. As such, there has been extensive research into novel agents with varying mechanisms of action targeting behavioral and psychological symptoms associated with dementia. In this article, we present the results of a comprehensive literature search and review that evaluates current agents that have completed or are currently in clinical trials for treating behavioral and psychological symptoms associated with dementia as a primary outcome. We highlight novel agents from miscellaneous drug classes, such as dextromethorphan/quinidine, bupropion/dextromethorphan, lumateperone, deudextromethorphan/quinidine, methylphenidate and scyllo-inositol, and drugs from various therapeutic classes (including atypical antipsychotics, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and cannabinoids) that have demonstrated promising results and were generally well tolerated. Future research with large appropriately powered studies using validated outcome measures for behavioral and psychological symptoms associated with dementia should be conducted to further establish the clinical utility of these agents.