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Trazodone improves sleep parameters in Alzheimer disease patients: a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study
Camargos EF, Louzada LL, Quintas JL, Naves JO, Louzada FM, Nóbrega OT.. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2014-01-04
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objectives There are no randomized clinical trials regarding efficacy of trazodone in the treatment of sleep disturbances (SD) in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). We tested the efficacy and safety of trazodone to treat SD in patients with AD. Design We conducted a double-blind, randomized and controlled trial during periods of 7-9 days at baseline and 2 weeks of treatment. Setting Geriatric medical center of the university's general hospital. Participants Individuals with probable AD and SD. The complete analysis comprised 30 patients assigned to either the active treatment group (N = 15) or the placebo group (N = 15). Intervention Patients received 50 mg of trazodone once daily at 10:00 P.M. or placebo in a 1:1 ratio for 2 weeks. Measurements Patients were evaluated using actigraphy and structured scales before and after intervention. Results Compared with the placebo group, trazodone users slept 42.5 more minutes per night and had their nighttime percent sleep increased 8.5 percentage points according to actigraphic data post-treatment. Neither trazodone nor placebo induced significant daytime sleepiness or naps. The treatments with trazodone or placebo did not show any effects either on cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination, forward/backward digit span task, letter-number sequencing, arithmetic, digit symbol-coding, and symbol search) or functionality (Katz index). There were no differences in frequency or severity rating of adverse events between the groups. Conclusions This study shows significant therapeutic effects of trazodone 50 mg in community-dwelling AD patients with SD.
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APA 7th
Camargos, E. F., Louzada, L. L., Quintas, J. L., Naves, J. O., Louzada, F. M., & Nóbrega, O. T. (2014). Trazodone improves sleep parameters in Alzheimer disease patients: a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2013.12.174
Vancouver
Camargos EF, Louzada LL, Quintas JL, Naves JO, Louzada FM, Nóbrega OT. Trazodone improves sleep parameters in Alzheimer disease patients: a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2014. doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2013.12.174. PMID: 24495406.
BibTeX
@article{camargos2014-24495406,
author = {Camargos, E. F. and Louzada, L. L. and Quintas, J. L. and Naves, J. O. and Louzada, F. M. and Nóbrega, O. T.},
title = {{Trazodone improves sleep parameters in Alzheimer disease patients: a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study}},
journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1016/j.jagp.2013.12.174},
pmid = {24495406},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2013.12.174}
}
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Key findings
- Results Compared with the placebo group, trazodone users slept 42.5 more minutes per night and had their nighttime percent sleep increased 8.5 percentage points according to actigraphic data post-treatment.
- Neither trazodone nor placebo induced significant daytime sleepiness or naps.
- Conclusions This study shows significant therapeutic effects of trazodone 50 mg in community-dwelling AD patients with SD.
Why it matters
In this small 2-week trial, trazodone increased nighttime sleep in people with Alzheimer disease and sleep disturbances, without affecting cognition or daytime sleepiness. This suggests trazodone may help with sleep problems but does not treat the disease itself.
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Study details
- Participants15
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 63/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for 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 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 15 participants |
| 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 (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 166 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 11.9 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 16.0× 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 | 2 / 4 | Cited 34 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Otávio de Tolêdo Nóbrega: h-index 35 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Universidade Federal do Paraná: institution h-index 372 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24495406) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 63 / 100 | — |
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