A new study points to mirtazapine, an antidepressant often prescribed to people with Alzheimer’s. This would be ineffective or even dangerous.
Often, antidepressants are prescribed for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, especially when they have agitated behavior. A new study published in The Lancet newspaper, highlights the problems with a drug prescribed in these patients: mirtazapine. This antidepressant has sedative effects and is often prescribed for patients who display agitation.
The study was conducted in 26 centers in the United Kingdom between January 2017 and March 2020. It is therefore interested in the effects of the molecule against agitation in people with dementia and Alzheimer’s. To do this, the researchers followed 204 patients. Half received mirtazapine, the other half took placebo. Results ? After twelve weeks, the first results came in: the patients who were administered mirtazapine were no less agitated than the others.
Potentially harmful mirtazapine
In addition to not being very helpful, mirtazapine is said to be potentially dangerous. After sixteen weeks, the group that received the molecule recorded seven deaths while the other had only one. However, it should be noted that no clear link has been established between these disappearances and mirtazapine.
Professor Banerjee, author of the study, assures that this drug should be discarded in some cases. “It is really important that these results are taken into account and that mirtazapine is no longer used to treat agitation in people with dementia.“, he explained.