Psychotic symptoms, aggression and restlessness in dementia

The current article reviews the literature pertaining to psychosis, aggress ion and restlessness in dementia sufferers examining frequency, course and associations as well as treatment considerations. All of these problems are highly prevalent, with a high impact upon dementia sufferers and their car ers. Although there has been an expansion in this literature over the last few years there are still very few studies describing the natural course of behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia (BPSD) and a paucity of data relating to non-Alzheimer dementias. Several large treatment studies have recently been completed, but there are still very few double blind con trolled trials focusing upon BPSD in particular respect to non-pharmacologi cal interventions.