Gabapentin for the treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia

Objective: To examine the efficacy of gabapentin for the treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Design: A retrospective chart review. Settings: Tertiary care geriatric psychiatry inpatient unit. Participants: 230 patients with BPSD. Measurements: The socio-demographic information, type of behaviors, co-morbid psychiatric and medical diagnoses, daily doses of medications and side-effects were recorded. Results: Of the 230 patients, 22 were treated with gabapentin. Twenty of these patients were on a combination of gabapentin and an antipsychotic medication while two patients were treated with gabapentin monotherapy. Eighteen of the 20 patients in the combination group tolerated the treatments with little or no side effects as did the two patients in the monotherapy group. Conclusions: Gabapentin may be a safe option for the treatment of BPSD in combination with antipsychotic medications. Gabapentin may also be effective as monotherapy in certain patients with BPSD.