Abstract

Neuropsychiatric symptoms and behavioural alterations are common in neurodegenerative diseases, and effective treatment of these changes represents an important unmet public health need. Imaging, neuropathological, neurotransmitter and molecular genetic studies increasingly identify specific mechanisms that mediate behavioural changes in neurodegenerative disorders and provide a platform for seeking effective therapeutic interventions. Measuring behavioural outcomes in clinical trials of antidementia agents represents an important means of evaluating treatment effectiveness, and clinical trial methodologies and behavioural instrumentation are evolving to facilitate drug development in this important therapeutic target area.

Author affiliations

1. Department of Neurology, 710 Westwood Plaza, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
2. MediChamp, 37 Grayson Lane, Newton, Massachusetts 02462, USA.

Correspondence to: Jeffrey L. Cummings¹ Email: jcummings@mednet.ucla.edu

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