Aggressiveness & Depression

Port123

My father is 90, still very mobile but has frequent episodes of anger and depression. He also at times still thinks he is only 50. His memory is getting worse daily and I am concerned that he will even forget who my Mom is and perhaps become violent. Are there medications that can calm him?

M1

yes, there are. Welcome to the forum.

Who is seeing him medically? That's your place to start. There are a number of medications that can help with agitation and aggression in dementia. The two major categories are the SSRI antidepressants—of which Celexa/citalopram and its spinoff Lexapro/escitalopram probably have the best track record, with sertraline/Zoloft a close third. These are usually insufficient in and of themselves however, especially for aggression, and many use them in combination with an atypical antipsychotic like Seroquel/quetiapine or Risperdal/risperidone. These probably have the best track record with calming aggression and violence. You need to know that they carry a black box warning for risk of vascular events such as stroke in the elderly; but the overall absolute risk is low, and with dementia patients there are few other options.

As a rule you'd want to start one drug at a time to be able to assess effect and side effects. If it were me, I'd start with Seroquel probably as most likely to control the anger and unwanted behaviors, then add in an SSRI if he still seemed depressed or anxious. One wants to use small doses initially in someone this old.

He may well forget who your mother is. This is always distressing, but it's not uncommon. If he's 90, is it likely that she is elderly also? She may need some help caring for him. If you look to the right under Quick Links and Groups, there is a group for new members with a lot of useful information.