Amphetamine Use in the Elderly: A Systematic Review of the Literature

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature on the therapeutic use of amphetamine, lisdexamfetamine and methylphenidate in elderly population with and without dementia. METHODS: We conducted two researches on the PubMed, Scopus and Embase using the keywords (“elderly”) AND (“amphetamine” OR “methylphenidate” OR “lisdexamfetamine”) and then (“Alzheimer” OR “dementia”) AND (“amphetamine” OR “methylphenidate” OR “lisdexamfetamine”). RESULTS: Twenty-nine papers met all the eligibility criteria. The results are encouraging as 81.5% of the studies showed clinical improvement of the investigated condition. CONCLUSION: Amphetamines and methylphenidate are probably effective strategies for different conditions in the elderly population. However, further studies are needed to provide more robust evidence on efficacy, dosage and safety for this population.