Quetiapine treatment in Alzheimer’s disease

Quetiapine is in the class of drugs known as atypical antipsychotic and is used in treating schizophrenia and mania associated with bipolar disorder.

In a study, 333 patients with Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, or mixed dementia and severe clinical symptoms of agitation received quetiapine or placebo. A total of 219 patients completed the 10-week study, which found that quetiapine reduced agitation in elderly patients with Alzheimer’s disease without leading to a decline in mental function. Fifty-seven percent of patients were noted as much improved or very much improved, compared to 32% in the placebo group. Quetiapine was generally well tolerated.