Efficacy of mianserin on symptoms of delirium in the aged: an open trial study.

1. The authors administered the tetracyclic antidepressant mianserin to aged patients with delirium to examine its efficacy in delirium. 2. The subjects were 62 consecutive aged patients with delirium, diagnosed according to DSM-IV. 3. The patients' symptoms of delirium were assessed once a week over the 4-week study period using the Delirium Rating Scale. 4. It was found that mianserin was effective, especially in treating behavioral and sleep-wake disturbance and that it was almost free from undesirable side-effects. It appears to be particularly useful for elderly patients with delirium, who easily develop extrapyramidal side-effects when given antipsychotic drugs. These properties of mianserin are worthy of further study.