Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37483320›Full record

ArticleJournal of Alzheimer's disease reports2023

Pilot Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial Evaluating the Feasibility of an Intranasal Oxytocin in Improving Social Cognition in Individuals Living with Alzheimer's Disease.

Johannes C Michaelian, Donna McCade, Camilla M Hoyos, Henry Brodaty, Fleur Harrison, Julie D Henry, Adam J Guastella, Sharon L Naismith

Open access · diamondAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.0field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Oxytocin in old age psychiatry: A systematic review of the safety of using intranasal oxytocin in older adults.Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Oxytocin as regulator of stress and inflammation in aging.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2026
    Review
  3. Sex differences in neuromodulatory subcortical systems and their implications for Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Celebrating the 100Endocrine journal · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Research progress in brain-targeted nasal drug delivery.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2023
    Review
  10. Article
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

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Johannes C MichaelianSchool of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Donna McCadeHealthy Brain Ageing Program, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Camilla M HoyosSchool of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Henry BrodatyCentre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Fleur HarrisonCentre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Julie D HenryThe University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Adam J GuastellaBrain and Mind Centre, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Sharon L NaismithSchool of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
The University of Sydney · AUUNSW Sydney · AUThe University of Queensland · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Individuals living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) demonstrate extensive deficits in social cognition. To date, no studies have investigated the feasibility of an intranasal oxytocin (INOT) treatment to improve social cognition in individuals living with AD. Objective: We conducted a pilot trial to determine recruitment feasibility, enrolment acceptability, and adherence to an INOT treatment to inform on the subsequent design of a future randomized controlled trial (RCT). We also estimated the effect sizes of potential social cognitive function outcome measures related to participants and their caregivers. Methods: Four individuals with AD were enrolled in a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial involving a one-week treatment period with both INOT (72 IU twice daily) and placebo. Results: All participants reported no treatment-causative or serious adverse events following repeated INOT administration. While enrolment acceptability (100%) and INOT adherence (placebo, 95%; INOT, 98%) were excellent, feasibility of recruitment was not acceptable (i.e., Conclusion: This pilot RCT provides first evidence that INOT administration in individuals living with AD is safe and well-tolerated. Despite limitations in sample size, moderate-to-large effect size improvements were identified in participant health outcomes as well as core social cognitive functions and 'burden' as reported by a caregiver. This suggests potential broad-ranging beneficial effects of INOT which should be assessed in future RCTs.

Indexed as

Alzheimer’s diseasedementiaintranasal oxytocinoxytocin nasal spraysocial cognition

Identifiers

PMID37483320
PMCPMC10357119
OpenAlexW4382241095

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.