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CompletedNCT00253123Updated Dec 3, 2010

A Study of the Effectiveness and Safety of Risperidone Versus Placebo in the Treatment of Behavioral Disturbances in Patients With Dementia

A Phase 3 interventional study of risperidone in Dementia, Alzheimer Disease and Dementia, Vascular, sponsored by Janssen, LP. Completed. Open to participants aged 55 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2010-12-03.

Sponsored by Janssen, LP · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
626
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
55 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of risperidone (an antipsychotic medication) versus placebo in the treatment of behavioral disturbances associated with dementia.

Read the detailed description

Dementia is a term used for a collection of symptoms that can be caused by a number of diseases or injuries that affect the brain. Individuals with dementia have a loss of cognitive function (thinking, perception, learning, verbal communication, memory, judgment), which may lead to behavioral and personality changes (for example, agitation, delusions, hallucinations). Some causes of dementia are reversible; however, irreversible dementia is caused by certain conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease. Dementia is common in elderly individuals, but it is not a normal part of aging. This is a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study comparing the effectiveness and safety of risperidone to placebo in patients with behavioral disturbances associated with dementia. The study is composed of a screening visit, followed by two study phases: a 1-week run-in period in which patients are discontinued from other antipsychotic drugs and receive placebo twice daily, and a 12-week double-blind period. At the end of the run-in period, patients are randomly assigned to one of three risperidone doses (0.5, 1, or 2 mg/day) or placebo. All patients randomized to risperidone start with 0.25 mg twice daily. During the first week of the double-blind period, patients assigned to the 1 mg/day dose group have their doses increased to 0.5 mg twice daily and patients assigned to the 2 mg/day dose group have their doses increased to 1 mg twice daily. These three assigned doses continue for an additional 11 weeks. The primary measure of effectiveness is the change from baseline in the clinical response, defined as a reduction of >= 30% from baseline on the total Behavior Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale (BEHAVE-AD) score. Additional efficacy testing includes the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI), a rating system used to evaluate the overall and severity of clinical change in a patient with various diseases affecting the brain; the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI), a questionnaire evaluating agitation that is completed by the patient's caregiver; the Physical Self-Maintenance Scale (PSMS), a scale that measures activities of daily living (for example, toileting, dressing, grooming, feeding, etc.). Safety evaluations include the incidence of adverse events; results of clinical laboratory tests (hematology, biochemistry, urinalysis); measurements of vital signs; physical examination and electrocardiogram (ECG) findings; and the Extrapyramidal Symptoms Rating Scale (ESRS), a scale used to measure effects of antipsychotic medications on motor functions of the patient. The study hypothesis is that risperidone is more effective than placebo, as measured by a change from baseline on the total BEHAVE-AD score, in treating behavioral disturbances in demented patients. Risperidone tablets (or placebo tablets) taken orally, starting with 0.25 mg twice daily, continuing at this dose for the 0.25 twice daily group and gradually increasing to either 0.5 mg twice daily or 1 mg twice daily in the other risperidone dose groups. Treatment duration is 12 weeks.

02

Conditions studied

  • Dementia
  • Alzheimer Disease
  • Dementia, Vascular

Keywords

  • Dementia
  • Alzheimer's disease
  • vascular dementia
  • mixed dementia
  • risperidone
  • nursing home
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In context

Alzheimer Disease

3,678 studies on the registry are indexed under Alzheimer Disease; 872 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 626 is above the median of 70 across 2,808 interventional studies indexed under Alzheimer Disease.

Browse Alzheimer Disease studies →

Lead sponsor

Janssen, LP is the lead sponsor of 20 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
55 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients with a diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer's type, mixed dementia, or vascular dementia, as classified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diseases, 4th edition (DSM-IV)
  • a score of 4 or more on the Functional Assessment Staging (FAST), a diagnostic tool for determining the stage of dementia
  • a score of 23 or lower on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a clinical measure used to evaluate cognition
  • a BEHAVE-AD total score of at least 8, and a BEHAVE-AD global rating of at least 1
  • residence in a psychiatric hospital, nursing home, or other long-term care facility for at least 1 month.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with untreated, reversible causes of dementia
  • with general medical or neurological conditions in which cognition is diminished (for example, untreated vitamin deficiency, severe liver or kidney malfunctions, brain tumor, etc.)
  • with dementia related to HIV infection (human immunodeficiency virus)
  • with a substance-induced persisting dementia
  • with psychiatric disorders that could account for the behavior disturbances, such as schizophrenia.
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Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double
Enrollment
626 participants (actual)

Interventions

  • Drugrisperidone
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Reduction of >= 30% from baseline to the end of double-blind treatment on the total BEHAVE-AD score.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change from baseline to the end of double-blind treatment in BEHAVE-AD global rating and total score; total CMAI score; CGI and CGI change from baseline; PSMS; safety evaluations conducted throughout the study.

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Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

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References and documents

Publications

  • Katz IR, Jeste DV, Mintzer JE, Clyde C, Napolitano J, Brecher M. Comparison of risperidone and placebo for psychosis and behavioral disturbances associated with dementia: a randomized, double-blind trial. Risperidone Study Group. J Clin Psychiatry. 1999 Feb;60(2):107-15. doi: 10.4088/jcp.v60n0207. PubMed 10084637 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 3, 2010, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00253123
Lead sponsor
Janssen, LP
First posted
Nov 15, 2005
Completion
Mar 1997
Last update
Dec 3, 2010

Study contacts

Janssen, LP Clinical Trial
study director · Janssen, LP
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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