Adapted problem adaptation therapy for depression in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease dementia: A randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Trials of effectiveness of treatment options for depression in dementia are an important priority. METHODS: Randomized controlled trial to assess adapted Problem Adaptation Therapy (PATH) for depression in mild/moderate dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease. RESULTS: Three hundred thirty-six participants with mild or moderate dementia, >7 on Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), randomized to adapted PATH or treatment as usual. Mean age 77.0 years, 39.0% males, mean Mini-Mental State Examination 21.6, mean CSDD 12.9. For primary outcome (CSDD at 6 months), no statistically significant benefit with adapted PATH on the CSDD (6 months: -0.58; 95% CI -1.71 to 0.54). The CSDD at 3 months showed a small benefit with adapted PATH (-1.38; 95% CI -2.54 to -0.21) as did the EQ-5D (-4.97; 95% CI -9.46 to -0.48). DISCUSSION: An eight-session course of adapted PATH plus two booster sessions administered within NHS dementia services was not effective treatment for depression in people with mild and moderate dementia. Future studies should examine the effect of more intensive and longer-term therapy.

Adapting and Optimizing Problem Adaptation Therapy (PATH) for People With Mild-Moderate Dementia and Depression.

OBJECTIVE: To adapt and optimize problem adaptation therapy for depression in dementia by grounding it in the lives of people with dementia, caregivers and clinicians. METHODS: A person-centered qualitative approach was taken to elicit the unique cognitive, psychological and social needs of people with dementia relevant to the adaptation of the intervention. A two-stage design was used: the first involved interviews and focus groups to identify priorities and concerns surrounding depression in dementia, the second trialling of the adapted intervention. PARTICIPANTS: Ten people with dementia and nine caregivers participated in individual interviews, 35 healthcare practitioners and clinical academics with experience of working with dementia participated in focus groups. RESULTS: The findings highlight the importance of addressing key themes that typified the experience of depression among people with dementia including: a profound sense of isolation and role loss, the feeling of being both a burden and poorly understood, polarized thinking, interpersonal tensions, diverging views among carers and people with dementia about their capabilities, and changeability in cognitive ability and mood. These themes were used to inform adaptation of the intervention manual, ensuring that its content and delivery addressed the concerns of both people with depression and dementia and those who support them. CONCLUSION: Implications for PATH included a focus on facilitating open communication, supporting the continuation of valued roles, and improving confidence.

Amisulpride for very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis: the ATLAS three-arm RCT.

BACKGROUND: Very late-onset (aged ≥ 60 years) schizophrenia-like psychosis (VLOSLP) occurs frequently but no placebo-controlled, randomised trials have assessed the efficacy or risks of antipsychotic treatment. Most patients are not prescribed treatment. OBJECTIVES: The study investigated whether or not low-dose amisulpride is superior to placebo in reducing psychosis symptoms over 12 weeks and if any benefit is maintained by continuing treatment thereafter. Treatment safety and cost-effectiveness were also investigated. DESIGN: Three-arm, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised controlled trial. Participants who received at least one dose of study treatment were included in the intention-to-treat analyses. SETTING: Secondary care specialist old age psychiatry services in 25 NHS mental health trusts in England and Scotland. PARTICIPANTS: Patients meeting diagnostic criteria for VLOSLP and scoring > 30 points on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). INTERVENTION: Participants were randomly assigned to three arms in a two-stage trial: (1) 100 mg of amisulpride in both stages, (2) amisulpride then placebo and (3) placebo then amisulpride. Treatment duration was 12 weeks in stage 1 and 24 weeks (later reduced to 12) in stage 2. Participants, investigators and outcome assessors were blind to treatment allocation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcomes were psychosis symptoms assessed by the BPRS and trial treatment discontinuation for non-efficacy. Secondary outcomes were extrapyramidal symptoms measured with the Simpson-Angus Scale, quality of life measured with the World Health Organization's quality-of-life scale, and cost-effectiveness measured with NHS, social care and carer work loss costs and EuroQol-5 Dimensions. RESULTS: A total of 101 participants were randomised. Ninety-two (91%) participants took the trial medication, 59 (64%) completed stage 1 and 33 (56%) completed stage 2 treatment. Despite suboptimal compliance, improvements in BPRS scores at 12 weeks were 7.7 points (95% CI 3.8 to 11.5 points) greater with amisulpride than with placebo (11.9 vs. 4.2 points; p = 0.0002). In stage 2, BPRS scores improved by 1.1 point in those who continued with amisulpride but deteriorated by 5.2 points in those who switched from amisulpride to placebo, a difference of 6.3 points (95% CI 0.9 to 11.7 points; p = 0.024). Fewer participants allocated to the amisulpride group stopped treatment because of non-efficacy in stages 1 (p = 0.01) and 2 (p = 0.031). The number of patients stopping because of extrapyramidal symptoms and other side effects did not differ significantly between groups. Amisulpride treatment in the base-case analyses was associated with non-significant reductions in combined NHS, social care and unpaid carer costs and non-significant reductions in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) in both stages. Including patients who were intensive users of inpatient services in sensitivity analyses did not change the QALY result but resulted in placebo dominance in stage 1 and significant reductions in NHS/social care (95% CI -£8923 to -£122) and societal costs (95% CI -£8985 to -£153) for those continuing with amisulpride. LIMITATIONS: The original recruitment target of 300 participants was not achieved and compliance with trial medication was highly variable. CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose amisulpride is effective and well tolerated as a treatment for VLOSLP, with benefits maintained by prolonging treatment. Potential adverse events include clinically significant extrapyramidal symptoms and falls. FUTURE WORK: Trials should examine the longer-term effectiveness and safety of antipsychotic treatment in this patient group, and assess interventions to improve their appreciation of potential benefits of antipsychotic treatment and compliance with prescribed medication. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN45593573 and EudraCT2010-022184-35. FUNDING: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 22, No. 67. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Antipsychotic treatment of very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis (ATLAS): a randomised, controlled, double-blind trial.

BACKGROUND: Very late (aged ≥60 years) onset schizophrenia-like psychosis occurs frequently but no placebo-controlled, randomised trials have assessed the efficacy and risks of antipsychotic treatment. We investigated whether low-dose amisulpride (100 mg daily) is superior to placebo in reducing psychosis symptoms over 12 weeks and whether any benefit is maintained by continuing treatment after 12 weeks. METHODS: The ATLAS double-blind controlled trial enrolled participants from 25 old age psychiatry services in the UK. Eligible participants (ie, those with a diagnosis of very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis and a Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale [BPRS] score of ≥30, without cognitive impairment) were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to one of three groups in a two-stage trial: amisulpride in stage 1 and 2 (group A), amisulpride then placebo (group B), or placebo then amisulpride (group C). Treatment (100 mg oral amisulpride daily vs placebo) was given for 12 weeks in stage 1 and, initially, 24 weeks then reduced to 12 weeks in stage 2. Participants, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to treatment allocation. Primary outcomes were psychosis symptoms assessed by the BPRS at 4, 12, and 24, or 36 weeks, and trial treatment discontinuation for non-efficacy. The primary, secondary, and safety endpoints were all analysed in participants given at least one dose of study treatment in modified intention-to-treat analyses. This study is registered with EudraCT, number 2010-022184-35, and ISRCTN, number ISRCTN45593573. FINDINGS: Between Sept 27, 2012, and June 28, 2016, we recruited 101 participants. 92 (91%) of 101 participants took trial medication, of whom 59 (64%) completed stage 1 and 34 (58%) of these 59 participants completed stage 2 treatment. Despite suboptimal compliance, improvements in BPRS scores at 12 weeks were 7·7 points (95% CI 3·8-11·5, p=0·0002) greater with amisulpride (mean 11·9 points [SE 1·3]) than with placebo (4·2 points [1·0]). In stage 2, BPRS scores improved by a mean of 1·1 points (1·6) from 12 weeks to the final assessment in those who continued amisulpride but deteriorated by 5·2 points (2·0) in those who switched from amisulpride to placebo (difference 6·3 points [95% CI 0·9-11·7], p=0·024). Fewer participants who were allocated amisulpride than placebo stopped treatment because of non-efficacy in stage 1 (p=0·010) and stage 2 (p=0·031). Serious adverse events were reported more frequently in the amisulpride group than in the placebo group in stage 1 (p=0·057) and stage 2 (p=0·19). The most common serious adverse events were infection (five patients in the amisulpride group, three in the placebo group) and extrapyramidal side-effects (three patients in the amisulpride group, none in the placebo group). Five patients died during the study, one from a gastric ulcer bleed before treatment started (group B), two while taking stage 2 treatment (one in group A and one in group C), and two who stopped trial treatment in stage 1 and died many weeks later (one in group B and one in group C). No deaths were related to treatment. INTERPRETATION: Low-dose amisulpride is effective and well tolerated as a treatment for very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis, with benefits maintained by prolonging treatment. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research.

Therapeutic D2/3 receptor occupancies and response with low amisulpride blood concentrations in very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis (VLOSLP).

OBJECTIVE: Antipsychotic drug sensitivity in very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis (VLOSLP) is well documented, but poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate blood drug concentration, D2/3 receptor occupancy and outcome in VLOSLP during open amisulpride prescribing, and compare this with Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: Blood drug concentration, prolactin, symptoms and extrapyramidal side-effects (EPS) were serially assessed during dose titration. [18 F]fallypride imaging was used to quantify D2/3 receptor occupancy. Average steady-state amisulpride concentration (Caverage, ng/ml) was estimated by incorporating pharmacokinetic (PK) data into an existing population PK model (25 AD participants, 20 healthy older people). RESULTS: Eight patients (target 20) were recruited (six women; 76 + - 6 years; six treatment compliant; five serially sampled; three with paired imaging data). Mean + - SD symptom reduction was 74 ± 12% (50-100 mg/day; 92.5 + -39.4 ng/ml). Mild EPS emerged at 96 ng/ml (in AD, severe EPS, 50 mg/day, 60 ng/ml). In three participants, imaged during optimal treatment (50 mg/day; 41-70 ng/ml), caudate occupancy was 44-59% (58-74% in AD across a comparable Caverage). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the small sample size, our findings are highly relevant as they suggest that, as in AD, 50 mg/day amisulpride is associated with >40% occupancy and clinically relevant responses in VLOSLP. It was not possible to fully characterise concentration-occupancy relationships in VLOSLP, and it is thus unclear whether the greater susceptibility of those with AD to emergent EPS was accounted for by increased central drug access. Further investigation of age- and diagnosis-specific threshold sensitivities is warranted, to guide amisulpride prescribing in older people, and therapeutic drug monitoring studies offer a potentially informative future approach. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Very Late-Onset Schizophrenia-Like Psychosis: A Clinical Update.

Psychosis symptoms (delusions and hallucinations) are multifactorial in origin and, in later life, occur in the context of schizophrenia, delirium, dementia, delusional and schizophrenia-like disorders, mood disorders, and alcohol or substance abuse. The current article provides a clinical overview of very late-onset (after age 60) schizophrenia-like psychosis (VLOSLP), summarizing the literature on treatment options and reflecting on the role of psychiatric-mental health nurses (PMHNs). Increased awareness of the clinical presentation, key features, and evidence-based treatment options will assist PMHNs to confidently recognize this often under-diagnosed disorder and adopt a more assertive role in terms of engagement and follow up. Pragmatic research involving individuals with VLOSLP is required to increase the evidence base for treatment and improve outcomes of care. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56(1), 37-47.].

Mitochondrial DNA diversity and population differentiation in southern East Asia.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphism has been studied systematically in the Han, Tibeto-Buman, and Hmong-Mien ethnic families of southern East Asia. Only two families in this region, Daic and Austro-Asiatic, were still uninvestigated. Daic is a major ethnic family in South China and Southeast Asia and has a long history. To study mtDNA polymorphism within this family, all the Daic populations of China and some of Vietnam (774 individuals from 30 populations) were typed by HVS-1 region sequencing and by PCR-RFLP assays. The observed high Southern type frequencies (B, F, M7, R) confirmed Daic as a typical Southern group. mtDNAs of other populations (126 individuals from 14 populations) from Austro-Asiatic ethnic families neighboring the Daic were also typed. Networks of mtDNA haplogroups in South China were traced from these new data and those from the literature. Ethnic families share many haplogroups, indicating their common origin. However, the two largest families in South China, Daic, and Hmong-Mien, polarized into several ethnic family specific haplogroups. Haplogroup ages were estimated in the networks of high-frequency haplogroups (B, F, M7, R), and they were found to originate about 50,000 years ago. In contrast, ethnic family specific haplogroups all originated around 20,000 years ago. We therefore conclude that modern humans have lived in South China for a long time, inside-ethnogenesis was a rather late event, and frequent inmixing was taking place throughout. MtDNA data of Daic, Austro-Asiatic and other populations in South China has therefore proven pivotal for studying the human history of East Asia.