Pharmacological interventions for apathy in Alzheimer's disease Article Swipe

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Myuri Ruthirakuhan , Nathan Herrmann , Eleenor H Abraham , Sarah W. Chan , Krista L. Lanctôt ·

YOU? · · 2018 · Open Access · · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd012197.pub2 · OA: W2518840706

Methylphenidate may demonstrate a benefit for apathy and may have slight benefits for cognition and functional performance in people with AD, but this finding is associated with low-quality evidence. Our meta-analysis is limited by the small number of studies within each drug class, risk of bias, publication bias, imprecision and inconsistency between studies. Additional studies should be encouraged targeting people with AD with clinically significant apathy which investigate apathy as a primary outcome measure, and which have a longer duration and a larger sample size. This could increase the quality of evidence for methylphenidate, and may confirm whether or not it is an effective pharmacotherapy for apathy in AD.