Agent	Dosage range	Outcome	Notes
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors
Donepezil (Aricept)^10,11	10 mg at bedtime	Improvement in outpatients but not in patients in extended-care facilities	Secondary data analysis in populations studied for cognitive loss
Galantamine (Razadyne: formerly Reminyl)¹²	6 to 12 mg twice per day	Improvement on Neuropsychiatric Inventory	Secondary endpoint in populations studied for cognitive loss
Rivastigmine (Exelon)¹³	3 to 6 mg twice per day	Less anxiety and psychosis	Secondary endpoint in populations studied for cognitive loss
Anticonvulsants and mood stabilizers
Carbamazepine (Tegretol)^14,15	Variable	May reduce aggression	Side effects and toxicity limit use.
Divalproex (Depakote)^16,17	375 to 1,375 mg per day	Continued improvement in agitation over time; well tolerated	—
Antidepressants
Citalopram (Celexa)^18,19	10 to 40 mg per day	Reduced agitation	—
Fluoxetine (Prozac)²⁰	5 to 40 mg per day	—	No data for effect in nondepressed patients
Sertraline (Zoloft)²⁰	25 to 200 mg per day	—	No data for effect in nondepressed patients
Trazodone (Desyrel)^14,15	25 to 300 mg per day	Reduced verbal aggression	—
Anxiolytics
Buspirone (BuSpar)	15 to 30 mg per day	—	No randomized clinical trials support use.
Lorazepam (Ativan)²¹	0.5 to 5 mg per day	—	No randomized clinical trials support use. Restrict use to patients with acute agitation.
Atypical antipsychotics
Clozapine (Clozaril)^22,23	25 to 50 mg at bedtime	Effective in reducing drug- induced psychosis in patients with Parkinson’s disease	Use limited by required hematologic monitoring.
Olanzapine (Zyprexa)²⁴	2.5 to 10 mg at bedtime	Improvement in agitation and aggression	Significant sedation when given at higher dosages; use with caution in patients with diabetes.
Quetiapine (Seroquel)²⁵	12.5 to 300 mg at bedtime	Results in psychosis were negative.	Antipsychotic of choice in patients with parkinsonian symptoms.
Risperidone (Risperdal)^26,27	0.5 to 1.5 mg at bedtime	Improvement in psychosis and agitation	FDA has warned about “cerebrovascular events” in patients taking this drug.
Typical antipsychotics
Haloperidol (Haldol)^28,29	< 1.5 mg per day	Variably effective at low dosages	Side effects limit use; not recommended except in patients with acute agitation and delirium.