This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Brexpiprazole for the treatment of agitation in Alzheimer dementia

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Brexpiprazole for the treatment of agitation in Alzheimer Dementia

Brexpiprazole is an atypical antipsychotic that acts on noradrenergic, serotonergic, and dopaminergic neurotransmitter systems, which are implicated in the neurochemistry of agitation in Alzheimer disease (1)

  • brexpiprazole has less intrinsic activity (ie, is less of a partial agonist and more of an antagonist) at D2 receptors than aripiprazole - brexpiprazole also has much more potent actions at 5HT2A, 5HT1A, and alpha 1B receptors than aripiprazole

Brexpiprazole in Alzheimer dementia (1):

  • randomized clinical trial with 345 patients, brexpiprazole, 2 mg/d or 3 mg/d, demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in agitation (Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory score) vs placebo over 12 weeks. No treatment-emergent adverse events had an incidence of 5% or greater with brexpiprazole and greater than placebo, and the discontinuation rates due to adverse events were similar across the groups

  • brexpiprazole, 2 or 3 mg, reduced agitation in Alzheimer dementia and was generally well tolerated over 12 weeks

Study authors concluded that "..Overall, brexpiprazole, 2 or 3 mg, appears to have a favorable benefit/risk profile in the treatment of agitation in Alzheimer dementia. Based on the results of this trial, together with a previous trial, brexpiprazole was approved in the United States for the treatment of agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer disease.."

Reference:

  1. Lee D, Slomkowski M, Hefting N, et al. Brexpiprazole for the Treatment of Agitation in Alzheimer Dementia: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Neurol. Published online November 06, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.3810

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.