Being Patient spoke with Dr. Dylan Wint, director of clinical operations at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, about the common behavioral symptoms of dementia and interventions to address them.

Dr. Dylan Wint: We know that adjustment to life circumstances can cause changes in mood. But we also know that those changes in mood could potentially trigger a major depressive episode.

What antidepressants seem to help with are people who have a depressed or anhedonic (lack of pleasure) mood in the presence of several other symptoms, usually including sleep disturbance, disturbance in appetite, psychomotor slowing, agitation, decreased interest, decreased energy. Antidepressants are meant to treat a syndrome that consists of several symptoms. So it would depend on what kinds of other symptoms this person is experiencing.

But in general, if we can address things with non-medication means, it’s a better way to go. Maybe [the person] could go for a walk up and down the driveway each day. Are we making sure that there’s plenty of sunlight in the house when it’s daytime and plenty of things to do to replace things that you can’t go out and do? Those sorts of measures are generally preferable to using medications.