Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25991652›Full record

SynthesisThe international journal of neuropsychopharmacology2015

Use of Benzodiazepines in Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review of Literature.

Michaela Defrancesco, Josef Marksteiner, W Wolfgang Fleischhacker, Imrich Blasko

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
6.7field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

44 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 112 citations in OpenAlex.

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  15. Biomedicines · 2022
    Article
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  17. Emotional and Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Alzheimer's Disease.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2022
    Review
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  19. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Michaela DefrancescoMemory Clinic (Dr Defrancesco), and Division of General and Social Psychiatry (Drs Fleischhacker and Blasko), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, Landeskrankenhaus Hall, Hall, Austria (Dr Marksteiner); Division of Biological Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria (Dr Fleischhacker).
Josef MarksteinerMemory Clinic (Dr Defrancesco), and Division of General and Social Psychiatry (Drs Fleischhacker and Blasko), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, Landeskrankenhaus Hall, Hall, Austria (Dr Marksteiner); Division of Biological Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria (Dr Fleischhacker).
W Wolfgang FleischhackerMemory Clinic (Dr Defrancesco), and Division of General and Social Psychiatry (Drs Fleischhacker and Blasko), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, Landeskrankenhaus Hall, Hall, Austria (Dr Marksteiner); Division of Biological Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria (Dr Fleischhacker).
Imrich BlaskoMemory Clinic (Dr Defrancesco), and Division of General and Social Psychiatry (Drs Fleischhacker and Blasko), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, Landeskrankenhaus Hall, Hall, Austria (Dr Marksteiner); Division of Biological Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria (Dr Fleischhacker).
Innsbruck Medical University · ATLandeskrankenhaus Feldkirch · AT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBenzodiazepines are frequently prescribed in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, studies evaluating their benefits and risks in these patients are limited.

methodsClinical trials focusing on the effect of benzodiazepines on cognitive functions, disease progression, behavioral symptoms, sleep disturbances, and the general frequency of benzodiazepine use were included in this review. Published articles from January 1983 to January 2015 were identified using specific search terms in MEDLINE and PubMed Library according to the recommendations of The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology initiative.

resultsOf the 657 articles found, 18 articles met predefined selection criteria and were included in this review (8 on frequency, 5 on cognitive functions, 5 on behavioral and sleep disturbances). The frequency of benzodiazepine use ranged from 8.5% to 20%. Five studies reported accelerated cognitive deterioration in association with benzodiazepine use. Two studies reported clinical efficacy for lorazepam and alprazolam to reduce agitation in Alzheimer's disease patients. No evidence was found for an improvement of sleep quality using benzodiazepines.

conclusionThis systematic review shows a relatively high prevalence of benzodiazepine use but limited evidence for clinical efficacy in Alzheimer's disease patients. However, there is a paucity of methodologically high quality controlled clinical trials. Our results underscore a need for randomized controlled trials in this area.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseBenzodiazepinesPsychotropic DrugsClinical Trials as TopicCognition DisordersHumansObservational Studies as TopicPrevalenceSleep Wake DisordersBenzodiazepinesPsychotropic DrugsagitationAlzheimer’s diseasebehavioral and psychological symptoms of dementiaBenzodiazepinessleep disorder

Identifiers

PMID25991652
PMCPMC4648159
OpenAlexW2122022552

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.