Pharmacological Therapies Patients unresponsive to nonpharm-acological interventions will often require pharmacological therapy for their behavioral changes. Delusional patients are treated with antipsychotic drugs. Surveillance for bradykinesia, rigidity and sialorrhea is critical. Agitation is one of the treatment-resistant manifestations of Alzheimer's disease. Psychotic patients with agitation may improve with antipsychotic agents.
Trazodone is particularly efficacious in relieving nighttime agitation.
In lower doses, it may also be of benefit for daytime agitation. Sedation is a common adverse side effect. They have few side effects and may produce benefits comparable to those observed with other agents. The time to onset of action of buspirone may be two to three weeks. Benzodiazepines should be avoided in Alzheimer's disease except in circumstances in which patients have rare episodes of agitation and daily dosing with an antiagitation agent is not warranted.