Oxytocin for frontotemporal dementia

Authors:
  • JMJulia MacKinley
    Julia MacKinley
  • MBMervin Blair
    Mervin Blair
  • SJSarah Jesso
    Sarah Jesso
  • MTMaria C. Tartaglia
    Maria C. Tartaglia
  • MBMichael Borrie
    Michael Borrie
  • JWJennie Wells
    Jennie Wells
  • IDIsabel Dziobek
    Isabel Dziobek
  • SPStephen Pasternak
    Stephen Pasternak
  • DMDerek G.V. Mitchell
    Derek G.V. Mitchell
  • KRKatherine Rankin
    Katherine Rankin
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Objective: To determine the safety and tolerability of 3 doses of intranasal oxytocin (Syntocinon; Novartis, Bern, Switzerland) administered to patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Methods: We conducted a randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled study using a dose-escalation design to test 3 clinically feasible doses of intranasal oxytocin (24, 48, or 72 IU) administered twice daily for 1 week to 23 patients with behavioral variant FTD or semantic dementia (clinicaltrials.gov registration number NCT01386333). Primary outcome measures were safety and tolerability at each dose. Secondary measures explored efficacy across the combined oxytocin vs placebo groups and examined potential dose-related effects. Results: All 3 doses of intranasal oxytocin were safe and well tolerated. Conclusions: A multicenter trial is warranted to determine the therapeutic efficacy of long-term intranasal oxytocin for behavioral symptoms in FTD. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class I evidence that for patients with FTD, intranasal oxytocin is not significantly associated with adverse events or significant changes in the overall neuropsychiatric inventory.

This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit: