- 798studies in the library match, of 29,380
- 242name it in the title
- 1984–2026years published
- 769peer-reviewed articles
The query: title or abstract mentions "agitation"/"agitated", "aggression"/"aggressive", "behavioural (and psychological) symptoms", "BPSD", "neuropsychiatric symptoms" or "brexpiprazole", matched case-insensitively against each record's title and abstract (its summary field) in alzhub's library of 29,380 study records, as of 2026-11-08. Every count on this page comes from that match. The matched list as JSON.
Agitation covers restlessness, pacing, shouting, resisting care and, sometimes, physical aggression. It is one of the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) with apathy, depression, anxiety, hallucinations and sleep disturbance. Studies test non-drug approaches (identifying triggers, music, activity, caregiver training) and medicines (antipsychotics, antidepressants, and newer drugs approved specifically for agitation), and weigh the modest benefits of the drugs against their risks in older people.
This page describes what published research in alzhub's library reports. It is not medical advice and does not apply to any one person: a doctor who knows the person's history is the only one who can say what a result or a treatment means for them.
What the studies report, in their own words
Whole sentences copied from the abstract or key findings of the highest-scoring matched studies, chosen because they mention the subject and give a figure. 8 of the 798 matched records are quoted; each links to its study page and from there to the paper.
“Five trials (n = 660) assessed neuropsychiatric symptoms with an obvious heterogeneity (I = 61.6%, P = .034), the MD of CCT (MD = -7.7, CI: -14 to -2.4), revealing that CCT was significantly efficacious in NPI.”
“Cases with bvAD showed more severe behavioral symptoms than tAD (standardized mean difference [SMD], 1.16 [95% CI, 0.74-1.59]; P < .001) and a trend toward less severe behavioral symptoms compared with bvFTD (SMD, -0.22 [95% CI, -0.47 to 0.04]; P = .10).”
“Moreover, memantine was associated with less agitation compared with placebo (RR=0.68, 95% CI=0.49 to 0.94, p=0.02, NNH=non significant).”
“There were also statistically significant benefits in agitation (CMAI Z score 2.68, p = 0.0076; mean difference 4.27, SEM 1.59; 95% CI -7.39, -1.15; Cohen's D 0.23) and overall neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPI-NH Z score 3.52, p < 0.001; mean difference 4.55, SEM 1.28; 95% CI -7.07,-2.02; Cohen's D 0.30).”
“BPSD (NPI Total Score) was also reduced from baseline by 4.0 at 3 months and by 0.5 at 6 months.”
“Treatment of pain was also significantly beneficial for the overall severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms (-9.0, -5.5 to -12.6) and pain (-1.3, -0.8 to -1.7), but the groups did not differ significantly for activities of daily living or cognition.”
“Crucially, R.torques was the only genus significantly correlated with improvements in cognition (ADAS-cog, r = 0.407), neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPI, r = 0.395), TMAO reduction (r = 0.443), and functional connectivity changes (r = 0.449).”
“Rivastigmine and Memantine have level-2 evidence for managing cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms of DLB.”
What kind of evidence it is
By study design
| Design (as recorded) | Studies |
|---|---|
| Systematic review or meta-analysis | 60 |
| Randomised controlled trial | 34 |
| Other clinical trial | 23 |
| Cohort or longitudinal study | 72 |
| Case-control study | 2 |
| Cross-sectional study | 54 |
| Other recorded design | 10 |
| No design recorded | 543 |
The design is the one named in alzhub's record for the study; a record with none is counted as "no design recorded".
By year
| Year | Studies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 50 | |
| 2025 | 119 | |
| 2024 | 28 | |
| 2023 | 22 | |
| 2022 | 31 | |
| 2021 | 29 | |
| 2020 | 30 | |
| 2019 | 29 | |
| 2018 | 40 | |
| 2017 | 31 | |
| 2016 and earlier | 389 |
Other counts within the matched set
| Peer-reviewed articles | 769 |
| Marked open access in the record | 234 |
| Rated "high" evidence strength in alzhub's summary | 180 |
| Rated "moderate" evidence strength in alzhub's summary | 111 |
| Rated "low" evidence strength in alzhub's summary | 502 |
| No evidence-strength rating | 5 |
| Records stating a participant count | 349 |
| Median participants (those records) | 170 |
| Largest participant count | 1,261,726 |
Within the 798 matched studies
| Studies… | Count | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| …that mention an antipsychotic | 86 | the abstract also contains "antipsychotic" or a named antipsychotic |
| …that test a non-drug approach (music, activity, training, environment) | 147 | the abstract also contains "music", "non-pharmacological", "psychosocial", "person-centred", "training" or "environment" |
| …that are randomised trials | 147 | the abstract also contains "randomised" or "randomized" |
The 10 highest-scoring matched studies
Title matches first, then by alzhub's usefulness score, which rates a study's design, journal, evidence and recency, not whether its result is good news.
- Assessment of Reported Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Atypical Antipsychotics in the Treatment of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: A Network Meta-analysis
- Study of mirtazapine for agitated behaviours in dementia (SYMBAD): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
- Effect of citalopram on agitation in Alzheimer disease: the CitAD randomized clinical trial
- Impact of person-centred care training and person-centred activities on quality of life, agitation, and antipsychotic use in people with dementia living in nursing homes: A cluster-randomised controlled trial
- A Focused Update to the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Pain, Anxiety, Agitation/Sedation, Delirium, Immobility, and Sleep Disruption in Adult Patients in the ICU
- Effects of an essential amino acid mixture on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and executive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled exploratory clinical trial
- Prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia and mild cognitive impairment: results from the cardiovascular health study
- Treatment of agitation in AD: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial
- The efficacy of donepezil in the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer disease
- Efficacy of cholinesterase inhibitors in the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms and functional impairment in Alzheimer disease: a meta-analysis
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the set
60 of the matched records are recorded as a systematic review, meta-analysis or umbrella review; the highest-scoring not already listed above:
- Comparison of multiple interventions for older adults with Alzheimer disease or mild cognitive impairment: A PRISMA-compliant network meta-analysis
- Research Criteria for the Behavioral Variant of Alzheimer Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
- Memantine monotherapy for Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Risk of death with atypical antipsychotic drug treatment for dementia: meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials
- Efficacy and comparative effectiveness of atypical antipsychotic medications for off-label uses in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Newest matched studies
- Longitudinal associations between neuropsychiatric symptoms, structural and perfusion MRI changes in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment
- Limbic Vulnerability Characterises REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder Across Prodromal and Established Lewy Body Disease
- Short-Horizon Metrics and the Persistence of Capacity-Debiting Practices in Nursing Homes
- What Do Care Staff Know About Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia? A Mixed- Methods Study in Long-Term Care
- Person-Centred Care: Impact on the Effectiveness of Palliative Care in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease
Journals with the most matched studies
| Journal | Studies |
|---|---|
| Journal of the American Geriatrics Society | 30 |
| International journal of geriatric psychiatry | 28 |
| Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD | 28 |
| Neurology | 27 |
| The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry | 22 |
Questions
- What helps agitation in dementia?
- Guidelines put non-drug approaches first: finding the trigger (pain, infection, noise, fear), routine, activity and music, and training for caregivers. Medicines are studied as a second step because their benefit is modest and their risks in older people are real. The studies below report what each approach achieved.
- How many studies on agitation in dementia does alzhub hold?
- 798 of the 29,380 study records in alzhub's library match the query "title or abstract mentions "agitation"/"agitated", "aggression"/"aggressive", "behavioural (and psychological) symptoms", "BPSD", "neuropsychiatric symptoms" or "brexpiprazole""; 242 of them name it in the title. Counted from the records when this page was built.
- What kinds of study are they?
- 60 systematic review or meta-analysis, 34 randomised controlled trials, 23 other clinical trials, 72 cohort or longitudinal studys, 2 case-control studys, 54 cross-sectional studys; 543 record no design.
- What is the most recent study in the set?
- "Longitudinal associations between neuropsychiatric symptoms, structural and perfusion MRI changes in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment" (medRxiv, 2026), the newest by publication date among the matched records.
- Which journals publish most on it?
- Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (30); International journal of geriatric psychiatry (28); Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD (28), counted across the matched records.
Read on
- Daily careWhy agitation happens, common triggers, and everyday steps that reduce it.
- Antipsychotics for agitation in dementiaThe modest benefit, the risks, the alternatives.
- Caregiver supportHelp for the person managing it.