Review: atypical antipsychotic drugs modestly improve neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia.

M e t h o d s Data sources: MEDLINE (1966 to July 2004), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and reference lists of retrieved studies and reviews. Study selection and assessment: English-language, randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled trials (RCTs) or meta-analyses of RCTs that evaluated any drug therapy in patients with dementia, including Alzheimer disease, vascular dementia, mixed dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies; and assessed outcomes for neuropsychiatric symptoms. {Study quality was assessed based on randomization procedure, allocation concealment, blinding, outcome assessment in all patients, and intention-to-treat analyses.}* Outcomes: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (e.g., hallucinations, delusions, combativeness, verbal aggression, psychomotor agitation, and wandering).