In a new study, researchers showed that a class of drugs, called noradrenergic drugs, commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression might have some benefits when used in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Findings were published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Scientists collected data from 19 studies involving 1.811 people with either AD or mild cognitive impairment. They first looked the results of 10 studies including 1,300 people in which noradrenergic drugs had been used to potentially improve cognitive or neuropsychiatric symptoms in people with neurodegenerative diseases. They found a small but significant positive effect of noradrenergic drugs on overall cognition in people with AD, compared with placebo, as measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination or Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale—Cognitive Subscale.
These drugs were also shown to improve apathy, which is a common symptom of AD. No effects were found for other symptoms, including attention, memory or agitation. Overall, this study shows evidence that noradrenergic drugs may improve cognition and decrease apathy in people with AD. However, authors raised study’s limitations as this was not an experimental study and underlined the strong rationale for further targeted clinical trials. Data came from studies targeting particular groups and doses used in current licenced applications of the drugs. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2022-329136
