Comparison of Efficacy and Safety of Aripiprazole and Risperidone in the Treatment of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia

Objective To assess the effect and safety of aripiprazole and risperidone in the treatment of Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Methods 68 dementia were randomly divided into aripiprazole group (n=34) and risperidone group (n=34) with a course of 8 weeks. BEHAVE-AD and TESS were used to evaluate the efficacy and adverse effect respectively before and at the ends of 8 weeks treatment. Their levels of blood glucose, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high Density lipoprotein–cholesterol (HDL), low density lipoprotein–cholesterol (LDL) and weight were measured at baseline and after 8 weeks. Results After 8 weeks treatment, the scores of BEHAVE-AD of patients in both groups significantly reduced (P 0.05);there were few side effects in the two groups, but the weight gains, total cholesterol and LDL in risperidone group were higher effect than before treatment. The aripiprazole group had no significantly change. Conclusion The results suggest that aripiprazole is as effective and safety as risperidone for the treatment of BPSD, but aripiprazole has fewer effects on blood glucose, lipids and weight than risperidone.