Violent behavior associated with donepezil
Abstract
Reports a case of violent behavior following the commencement of donepezil in a 76-yr-old male with a 2-yr history of cognitive impairment, diagnosed as Alzheimer's disease. Five days after donepezil, 5 mg daily, the S became paranoid, and beat his wife. The S agreed to hospital admission, avoiding compulsory detention. The S was started on haloperidol, .5 mg b.i.d, while his donepezil was discontinued. His paranoid ideation resolved after a few days and did not reoccur, despite withdrawal of haloperidol. Although a causal relationship between this incident and donepezil cannot be proven, a temporal relationship between commencement of donepezil and the behavioral disturbance warrants caution when prescribing this drug. It is noted that the manufacturer reports that 5% of patients taking donepezil have developed agitation, although only 1% with physical aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Author
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Date
1998
Type
Correspondence
Subject
Aggression, Alzheimer disease, Domestic violence, Violence, Drug therapy
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Citation
Bouman, W. P. & Pinner, G. (1998). Violent behavior associated with donepezil. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 155 (11), pp.1626-1627.