Author (year) | Drug dose | RCT design | No of participants | Outcome measure | Findings |
Psychostimulant | |||||
Mooney (1993)55 | Methylphenidate 30 mg daily | Parallel single blind design | Traetment:19 Placebo:19 | POMS-Anger hostility score | Significantly effective in anger reduction |
Speech (1993)56 | Methylphenidate 0.3 mg/kg two times a day | Cross-over | 12 closed head injury patients | KAS-belligerence score | NS |
Dopaminergic | |||||
Schnieder (1999)57 | Amantadine 100–300 mg/day | Cross-over | 10 patients with TBI | Neurobehavioural Rating Scale | NS |
Hammond (2014)58 | Amantadine 100 mg two times a day | Parallel design | 76 | NPI-I+NPI-A | NS for the whole group but in a subgroup, amantadine was significantly better |
Hammond (2015)59 | Amantadine 100 mg two times a day | Parallel design | 168 | NPI-I | NS, both groups showed large improvements |
Hammond (2017)60 | Amantadine 100 mg two times a day | Parallel design | 118 | NPI-I | Two items out of many showed significantly better outcome in the amantadine group |
Beta-blockers | |||||
Greendyke (1986a)61 | Propranolol 80–520 mg/day | Cross-over | 9 patients with ABI | Observed frequency of aggressive behaviour | Propranolol significantly reduced assaultive behaviour |
Greendyke (1986b)62 | Pindolol 10–60 mg/ day | Cross-over | 11 patients with ABI (possible overlap with participants in 1986a study; not known) | Observed frequency of aggressive behaviour | Pindolol significantly reduced assaultive behaviour |
Greendyke (1989)63 | Pindolol 5–20 mg/day | Cross-over | 10 patients with ABI | OAS | NS |
Brooke (1992)64 | Propranolol 60–420 mg/day (recommended maximum is 320 mg/day) | Parallel design | Propranolol:11 Placebo:10 | OAS | Propranolol group showed less intense but same frequency of assaults compared to the placebo group received more physical restraints |
ABI, acquired brain injury; KAS, Katz Adjustment Scale; NPI-A, Neuropsychiatry Inventory-Aggression; NPI-I, NPI-Irritability; NS, non-significant; OAS, Overt Aggression Scale; POMS, Profile of Mood States; RCT, randomised controlled trial; TBI, traumatic brain injury.