Brexpiprazole May Reduce Agitation Symptoms in Patients With Dementia Due to Alzheimer Disease

The use of brexpiprazole for the treatment of agitation symptoms in patients with dementia due to Alzheimer disease (AD) may reduce the frequency of symptoms in individuals, according to recent study. The results of the study were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2024 in Philadelphia, PA.

For their study, researchers included data from two 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm trials that focused on the use of fixed-dose brexpiprazole in patients with agitation associated with dementia due to AD. The efficacy of brexpiprazole was assessed using the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory, which measures the frequency of occurrence of 29 agitation behaviors. For the analysis, “least squares mean change from baseline to week 12 in each CMAI item score was determined in subsamples of patients for whom corresponding behavior occurred at least once per week (item score ≥3) at baseline,” the authors noted.

Data from 610 patients were analyzed by researchers with the total being split into two cohorts: (1) brexpiprazole 2 or 3 mg/day (n = 363) and (2) placebo (n = 247). The mean number of different agitation behaviors at least weekly at baseline was 12.8 per patient. The most common agitation behaviors observed in patients occurring at least weekly were general restlessness (n = 572), pacing/aimless wandering (n = 513), and cursing or verbal aggression (n = 496). Across the CMAI items, the least squares mean score changes from baseline to the final week of the trials ranged from -1.80 to -0.04 for the brexpiprazole group, and -1.34 to +0.84 for placebo. Further, a greater numerical reduction for brexpiprazole vs placebo on 24 out of 29 items occurred.

“Patients with agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease exhibited many different frequently occurring agitation behaviors,” the researchers concluded. “Fixed-dose brexpiprazole 2 or 3 mg/day was associated with a numerically greater reduction in the frequency of most of these frequently occurring agitation behaviors versus placebo.”

Reference:
Wang D, Chumki SR, Such P, Zhang Z, Palma AM. Efficacy of brexpiprazole on frequently occurring agitation behaviors in patients with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease: post hoc pooled analysis of two randomized controlled trials. Presented at: Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2024; July 28 – August 1, 2024; Philadelphia, PA. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://aaic.alz.org/