SynthesisBritish journal of clinical pharmacology2019
Gabapentin and pregabalin to treat aggressivity in dementia: a systematic review and illustrative case report.
Synthesis in British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gabapentinoid Use and Risk of Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies.Drugs & aging · 2026Pooled it
- Reduction and prevention of agitation in persons with neurocognitive disorders: an international psychogeriatric association consensus algorithm.International psychogeriatrics · 2024Guideline
- Mapping new pharmacological interventions for cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Bipolar Disorder and Manic-Like Symptoms in Alzheimer's, Vascular and Frontotemporal Dementia: A Systematic Review.Current neuropharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Gabapentin and pregabalin to treat aggressivity in dementia: a systematic review and illustrative case report.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2019Pooled it
- Characterizing treatment initiation with central nervous system-active polypharmacy among adults with dementia.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Patterns of Daily Administration of Psychoactive Drug Classes for Distress Behavior in Dementia.Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2026Article
- [Benefits and risks of gabapentinoids in geriatric psychiatry].Der Nervenarzt · 2026Review
- Pharmacological management of agitation in dementia: An evidence-based review with expert consensus.Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA · 2026Review
- Review
- A Deep Subgrouping Framework for Precision Drug Repurposing via Emulating Clinical Trials on Real-world Patient Data.KDD : proceedings. International Conference on Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining · 2025Article
- MEDICATION EXPOSURE AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE RISK ACROSS NATIONAL BIOBANKS.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Associations between specialized dementia care, COVID-19 and central nervous system medication use in assisted living: a population-based repeated cross-sectional study.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate pregabalin efficacy in the treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in patients with Alzheimer's disease.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
- High-throughput target trial emulation for Alzheimer's disease drug repurposing with real-world data.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Behavioral or neuropsychiatric symptoms of Alzheimer's disease: from psychopathology to pharmacological management.Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 2023Article
- Trends in Antiseizure Medication Prescribing Among Nursing Home Residents With and Without a Seizure Diagnosis.The neurologist · 2023Article
- Long-Stay Mood Stabilizer Use Increasing as Prescription of Antipsychotics Decreases.GeroPsych · 2023Article
- Antiepileptic prescribing to persons living with dementia residing in nursing homes: A tale of two indications.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2023Article
- Mechanisms Involved in Epileptogenesis in Alzheimer's Disease and Their Therapeutic Implications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsThe prevalence of dementia is rising as life expectancy increases globally. Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), including agitation and aggression, are common, presenting a challenge to clinicians and caregivers.
methodsFollowing PRISMA guidelines, we systematically reviewed evidence for gabapentin and pregabalin against BPSD symptoms of agitation or aggression in any dementia, using six databases (Pubmed, CINHL, PsychINFO, HealthStar, Embase, and Web of Science). Complementing this formal systematic review, an illustrative case of a patient with BPSD in mixed Alzheimer's/vascular dementia, who appeared to derive benefits in terms of symptom control and functioning from the introduction of gabapentin titrated up to 3600 mg day
resultsTwenty-four relevant articles were identified in the systematic review. There were no randomized trials. Fifteen papers were original case series/case reports of patients treated with these compounds, encompassing 87 patients given gabapentin and six given pregabalin. In 12 of 15 papers, drug treatment was effective in the majority of cases. The remaining nine papers were solely reviews, of which two were described as systematic but predated PRISMA guidelines. Preliminary low-grade evidence based on case series and case reviews suggests possible benefit of gabapentin and pregabalin in patients with BPSD in Alzheimer's disease. These benefits cannot be confirmed until well-powered randomized controlled trials are undertaken. Evidence in frontotemporal dementia is lacking.
conclusionGabapentin and pregabalin could be considered for BPSD when medications having stronger evidence bases (risperidone, other antipsychotics, carbamazepine and citalopram) have been ineffective or present unacceptable risks of adverse outcomes.
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Registered trials
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.