Brain & Nervous System Health Center

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Other medicines

Other medicines that may be used to treat agitation include trazodone or a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) such as fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa), or escitalopram (Lexapro). But research on the effectiveness of these medicines in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias is limited.

FDA advisory. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an advisory on antidepressant medicines and the risk of suicide. The FDA does not recommend that people stop using these medicines. Instead, a person taking antidepressants should be watched for warning signs of suicide. This is especially important at the beginning of treatment or when the doses are changed.

See Drug Reference for more information about all of these medicines. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)