| Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Methods The subjects were patients with Alzheimer's disease with mental behavior symptoms admitted to the Changning District Mental Health Center from Jan 2015 to Jan 2017. A total of 63 patients were enrolled in the study, who were randomly divided into quetiapine or memantine group. Thirty-two patients in quetiapine group were treated with quetiapine, while thirty-one patients in memantine group were treated with memantine. The effects of mental behavioral symptoms and cognitive function and side effects such as dizziness and drowsiness were observed at the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, 20th, and 24th weekend after treatment. Results At the 24th weekend of treatment, the total scores of the neuropsychiatric inventory in both quetiapine group and memantine group decreased, and the difference among the different time points was statistically significant (F=194.29, P=0.00). After 24 weeks of treatment, the factor scores such as delusion, hallucination, agitation, and anxiety decreased significantly from baseline in two groups, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). At the 1st and 2nd weekend, the effective rate of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in quetiapine group was higher than that in memantine group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). In quetiapine group, dizziness occurred in three cases, drowsiness in two cases, fatigue in one case, and decrease of blood pressure in two cases. In memantine group, dizziness occurred in one case, drowsiness in three cases, fatigue in two cases, and decrease of blood pressure in one case. The difference in the incidence of side effects between two groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion Both quetiapine and memantine can effectively relieve the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Quetiapine takes effect faster than memantine does. |
