[Citalopram in treatment of behavioral disorders in demented patients].

Behavioral disturbances are a common complication in dementia. The underlying cause of this condition is mainly a disturbance of serotonin neurotransmission. In this paper the effect of citalopram on behavioral disturbances was studied in 20 patients with dementia. After 3 weeks of treatment improvement of the symptoms confusion and restlessness of the Gottfries-Brane-Steen Geriatric Scale was found (p < 0.05). These findings underline the effect of citalopram as emotional "stabilizer" in demented patients, as already described in earlier studies.