--- title: "Psych News Alert: Antidepressant Shows Mixed Results in Treating Alzheimer's Patients, Study Finds" description: While citalopram has been used to reduce agitation and aggression in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a new study published in th... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Alzheimers%20washes%20away%20memory_107466191-Jun-24-2025-03-24-32-4366-PM.jpg --- 6/24/24 11:16 AM # Antidepressant Shows Mixed Results in Treating Alzheimer's Patients, Study Finds ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/02/antidepressant-shows-mixed-results-in.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/02/antidepressant-shows-mixed-results-in.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/02/antidepressant-shows-mixed-results-in.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/02/antidepressant-shows-mixed-results-in.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/02/antidepressant-shows-mixed-results-in.html) | [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Alzheimers%20washes%20away%20memory_107466191-Jun-24-2025-03-24-31-5485-PM.jpg?width=200&height=200&name=Alzheimers%20washes%20away%20memory_107466191-Jun-24-2025-03-24-31-5485-PM.jpg)](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Alzheimers%20washes%20away%20memory_107466191-Jun-24-2025-03-24-31-5485-PM.jpg) | | | --- | --- | While citalopram has been used to reduce agitation and aggression in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a new [study](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24549548) published in the *Journal of the America Medical Association* suggests that use of the drug in these patients may be increasing their health risks. Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and the University of Rochester Medical Center randomized 186 nondepressed patients with AD to received nine weeks of psychosocial therapy plus either citalopram or placebo to evaluate the efficacy of 30mg per day of citalopram for AD-associated agitation—which affects 90% of patients with AD, according to study. Results showed that 40% of the patients receiving citalopram had improvements in agitation from baseline, compared with 26% of placebo recipients. However, the patients taking citalopram had longer QT intervals—a measure of abnormal heart functions that greatly increases the risk for heart attacks—than did the placebo group. Constantine Lyketsos, M.D., M.H.S, coauthor and director of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Bayview, commented in statement that he and his colleagues plan to investigate the effectiveness of lower doses of citalopram in treating AD-related agitation, a strategy that may pose less cardiovascular risk. In the meantime, Lyketsos said, the drug offers an alternative to treating agitation in individuals with AD who may be nonresponsive to nonmedication treatments. To read more about citalopram and adverse cardiovascular health risks, see the *Psychiatric News* article, "[FDA Responds to AJP Manuscript on Citalopram Safety](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=1827911)." For more information on treating AD, see [Clinical Manual of Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=62422) from American Psychiatric Publishing. (Image: Lightspring/shutterstock.com) [Alzheimer's disease](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alzheimers-disease), [citalopram](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/citalopram), [heart attacks](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/heart-attacks) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/elderlyhands_110911754-Jun-24-2025-03-40-43-7265-PM.jpg?height=200&name=elderlyhands_110911754-Jun-24-2025-03-40-43-7265-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/01/effectiveness-of-citalopram-for.html) [agitation](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/agitation), [citalopram](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/citalopram), [CitAD](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/citad), [Citalopram for Agitation in Alzheimer Disease](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/citalopram-for-agitation-in-alzheimer-disease) ## [Effectiveness of Citalopram for Agitation in Alzheimer’s May Be Limited to Subset of Patients](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/01/effectiveness-of-citalopram-for.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 1/19/16 12:00 AM Citalopram may be of limited use for the treatment of agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/01/effectiveness-of-citalopram-for.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/iStock_000049342412_Medium-Jun-24-2025-09-39-56-1752-PM.jpg?height=200&name=iStock_000049342412_Medium-Jun-24-2025-09-39-56-1752-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/04/citalopram-may-improve-several.html) [anxiety](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/anxiety), [irritability](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/irritability), [Alzheimer’s](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alzheimers), [citalopram](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/citalopram), [Citalopram for Agitation in Alzheimer Disease](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/citalopram-for-agitation-in-alzheimer-disease), [delusions](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/delusions) ## [Citalopram May Improve Several Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer's](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/04/citalopram-may-improve-several.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 4/4/16 12:00 AM The benefits of treating patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with citalopram may extend beyond... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/04/citalopram-may-improve-several.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_68083162-Jun-24-2025-03-40-36-0351-PM.jpg?height=200&name=shutterstock_68083162-Jun-24-2025-03-40-36-0351-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/05/drug-to-prevent-alzheimer-to-be-tested.html) [prevention](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/prevention), [Alzheimer's disease](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alzheimers-disease) ## [Drug to Prevent Alzheimer's to Be Tested](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/05/drug-to-prevent-alzheimer-to-be-tested.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 6/24/24 11:16 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/05/drug-to-prevent-alzheimer-to-be-tested.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T15:26:52.585Z", "datePublished" : "2024-06-24T15:16:15.000Z", "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Antidepressant Shows Mixed Results in Treating Alzheimer's Patients, Study Finds", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Alzheimers%20washes%20away%20memory_107466191-Jun-24-2025-03-24-32-4366-PM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/02/antidepressant-shows-mixed-results-in.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```