It is well described that AD patients suffer from psychosis and may include delusional thought content (such as paranoia), and/or hallucinations (eg, visual or auditory), irritability as well as agitation/aggression, anxiety and eating disorders.
Patients are irritable, uncooperative, and intrusive, as well as being aggressive and agitated. It could include physical violence and related behaviors. They also show severe sleep disorders. This condition represents the main cause for placing AD patients in nursing homes.
BPSD includes all Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms in demented patients and more particularly agitation/aggression in Alzheimer’s disease. Those symptoms come with aging and appear in clusters.
Prevalence of AD and hence BPSD is growing with aging societies. The global dementia population is projected to grow from ~50 million today to over 100 million by 2040; AD is by far the most frequent form (>60%).
Prevalence of BPSD is up to 60% in mild to moderate, up to 90% in severe AD patients and is present in >75% of patients living in nursing homes.
As of today, no specific medication has been registered to treat BPSD.