Acetaminophen may help dementia

ST. LOUIS, Nov 30, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A St. Louis University study suggests the use of acetaminophen might help nursing home residents suffering from dementia.

Researchers found nursing home residents with moderate to severe dementia who were given acetaminophen became more socially active than those receiving a placebo.

"Nursing homes may want to consider the potential benefits of some kind of safe, routine, prophylactic analgesic for people with dementia who are at high risk for pain," said John Chibnall, professor of psychiatry and lead study author.

"The assumption is that people with dementia don't feel pain because they're demented," said Chibnall. "Actually, they do feel it; they just can't tell you about it. Standard pain assessment requires levels of communication and language comprehension that people with advanced dementia, by definition, do not have."

The researchers observed 25 patients with moderate to severe dementia during an eight-week period. In addition to receiving their usual psychotropic medications, they were given acetaminophen for four weeks, and a placebo for four weeks.

Those receiving acetaminophen were more active than the others, spending less time alone in their rooms and more time interacting with others.

The study appears in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

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