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Designing a trial to evaluate potential treatments for apathy in dementia: the apathy in dementia methylphenidate trial (ADMET)
Drye LT, Scherer RW, Lanctôt KL, Rosenberg PB, Herrmann N, Bachman D, Mintzer JE, ADMET Research Group.. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2013-01-18
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Research on efficacious treatments for apathy in Alzheimer disease has been hindered by a lack of consensus diagnosis, difficulties in measurement, and studies with small sample sizes. Methods In designing the Apathy in Dementia Methylphenidate Trial (ADMET), a trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of methylphenidate for the treatment of apathy in Alzheimer disease, we encountered the following issues: defining and measuring apathy, distinguishing apathy and depression, determining an appropriate test treatment, selecting relevant secondary outcomes, recruiting participants, and deciding on a suitable method for treatment unmasking. ADMET is a 6-week randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled multicenter clinical trial with two parallel treatment groups assigned in a 1:1 ratio with randomization stratified by clinical center. The recruitment goal is 60 randomized participants over 2 years. The primary outcomes are change in apathy severity as measured by the Apathy Evaluation Scale and the Alzheimer Disease Cooperative Study-Clinical Global Impression of Change. Conclusion The design decisions made for ADMET are important elements to be considered in trials assessing the safety and efficacy of medications for clinically significant apathy in Alzheimer disease.
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APA 7th
Drye, L. T., Scherer, R. W., Lanctôt, K. L., Rosenberg, P. B., Herrmann, N., Bachman, D., et al. (2013). Designing a trial to evaluate potential treatments for apathy in dementia: the apathy in dementia methylphenidate trial (ADMET). The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2012.12.018
Vancouver
Drye LT, Scherer RW, Lanctôt KL, Rosenberg PB, Herrmann N, Bachman D, et al. Designing a trial to evaluate potential treatments for apathy in dementia: the apathy in dementia methylphenidate trial (ADMET). The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2013. doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2012.12.018. PMID: 23567407.
BibTeX
@article{drye2013-23567407,
author = {Drye, L. T. and Scherer, R. W. and Lanctôt, K. L. and Rosenberg, P. B. and Herrmann, N. and Bachman, D. and Mintzer, J. E. and {ADMET Research Group}},
title = {{Designing a trial to evaluate potential treatments for apathy in dementia: the apathy in dementia methylphenidate trial (ADMET)}},
journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1016/j.jagp.2012.12.018},
pmid = {23567407},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2012.12.018}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Conclusion The design decisions made for ADMET are important elements to be considered in trials assessing the safety and efficacy of medications for clinically significant apathy in Alzheimer disease.
Why it matters
This paper describes the design of a trial to test methylphenidate for apathy in Alzheimer disease, not the results of that trial. It does not yet show whether methylphenidate helps treat apathy.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 178 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 20 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.3 citations a year over 15 year(s) since 2013 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 6 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Jacobo E Mintzer: h-index 73 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23567407) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
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