Acetaminophen may help dementia patients?
The over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen may help elderlyadults with dementia become more active and socially engaged, theresults of a small study suggest.
Researchers found that whenthey gave acetaminophen to nursing home patients who had moderate tosevere dementia, the medication helped changed some of the patients’behaviors. They tended, for example, to spend less time in their roomsand more time watching television, listening to music, reading orperforming “work-like” activities.
The findings suggest thatunrecognized, untreated pain in dementia patients keeps them from beingas active as they can be, according to the study authors, led by Dr.John T. Chibnall of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine inMissouri.
“Pain treatment in this group may facilitateengagement with the environment,” they report in the Journal of theAmerican Geriatrics Society.
Chronic pain is a common problemfor elderly adults, stemming from conditions such as arthritis, bonefractures and nerve damage from diabetes. But Alzheimer’s disease andother forms of dementia can get in the way of diagnosing and treatingchronic pain. Patients may, for instance, be unable to express whatthey are feeling.
What’s more, untreated pain may exacerbate problems associated with dementia, such as inactivity, agitation and depression.
To see if a mild painkiller could change dementia patients’ behavior,Chibnall and his colleagues studied the effects of 4 weeks of treatmentwith acetaminophen (Tylenol). Twenty-five nursing home residents withmoderate to severe dementia spent 4 weeks taking three daily doses ofacetaminophen and another 4 weeks taking inactive pills.
Overall, the study found that patients spent less time by themselvesand more time being socially active when using acetaminophen. They alsospent more time talking to themselves or an “imaginary other,” which,according to the researchers, is also a manifestation of heightenedengagement.
On the other hand, although certain behaviors showed positive changes, agitation and emotional well-being did not improve.
Still, Chibnall and his colleagues conclude, the findings suggest thattreating pain with mild medications can help improve dementia patients’social interactions.
“With further research and more aggressivetreatment of pain,” they write, “nursing home residents with dementiamay be helped to lead more interactive lives.”
But wait:
McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, maker of Tylenol, supplied the medication used in the study.
SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, November 2005.