Medical Advice — Not Policy — Should Drive Care for Patients with Alzheimer’s and NPS
Alzheimer’s Disease and related Dementias not only rob people of their memories, but it can change their personalities and…
more.Neuropsychiatric Symptoms
Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) of Alzheimer’s disease can include anxiety and depression, agitation, apathy, psychosis, sleep disturbances, and wandering. Taking care of a loved one who is experiencing these symptoms can be challenging, especially when there is a lack of awareness and support from health care professionals. The below resources are for patients, caregivers, and loved ones to help navigate and cope with these often unpredictable and misunderstood symptoms.
Report
The Alliance for Aging Research, in partnership with the National Alliance for Caregiving, held a virtual summit in December 2025 convening clinicians, caregivers, researchers, policy leaders, and people with lived experiences to address the challenges of neuropsychiatric symptom (NPS) care in Alzheimer’s and related diseases. Caring Together: Empowering Families and Health Professionals with Tools for Better Neuropsychiatric Symptom Care, a report, emerged from that summit, pulling together expert insights, survey data, and practical resources into a single toolkit for caregivers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers.
The report covers the basics of neuropsychiatric symptoms, including awareness and recognition, the real-world challenges facing caregivers, and the tools and programs available to better support families and care teams. It also examines how existing regulations can sometimes prevent access to appropriate care, and what needs to change.
Key Takeaways:
- Neuropsychiatric symptoms are medical symptoms of underlying brain disease, not behavioral problems, and that distinction has a direct impact on how people are cared for.
- Survey data from the summit shows that most caregivers feel unsupported and have never used any formal tools to help identify or track neuropsychiatric symptoms.
- The report, Caring Together: Empowering Families and Health Professionals with Tools for Better Neuropsychiatric Symptom Care, highlights a range of resources including screening tools, care navigation services, and respite programs.
- Advocates, physicians, and families of patients experiencing neuropsychiatric symptoms and Alzheimer’s disease call for updates to existing regulations to make sure oversight policies support, rather than stand in the way of, the individualized care patients need.
NPS Summit
In December 2025, the Alliance and the National Alliance for Caregiving co-convened a virtual summit bringing together a range of experts, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and people with lived experience.
Podcast Episode
Joining us on an episode of the Alliance’s This Is Growing Old podcast to discuss the highlights from the Summit and white paper is Jason Resendez, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC). Tune in online or wherever you stream podcasts.
Resources from the Summit
View the slides from the Summit.
Agitation in Alzheimer’s Screener (AASC) for Caregivers
Learn more about AAD by using the AASC screener tool to identify common behaviors.
Learn more about HFC’s Caregiver Road Trip, a go-to guide for caregivers navigating Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms Associated with Alzheimer’s Toolkit
The resources in this toolkit are available to help PAs recognize, diagnose, and treat patients exhibiting NPS.
GSA KAER Toolkit for Brain Health
This toolkit helps primary care teams support brain health and improve cognitive impairment detection.
Dementia Care Navigation Service
Learn how more about how caregivers and people living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia can access personalized dementia care for free, including a dedicated care navigator and tailored resources.
Learn More About NPS
About Neuropsychiatric Symptoms
Diseases and injuries that damage the brain can impact the way we interact with the world and lead to significant and disabling behavioral and psychological symptoms—also referred to as neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS). These NPS that lead to mood and emotional changes are rarely talked about because they are highly stigmatized and often dismissed as willful behavioral problems that caregivers need to deal with and worry about.
These symptoms are as much of a product of the disease or injury as changes to memory or motor skills, and can include agitation, anxiety and depression, psychosis, sleep disturbances, wandering, and many more.
NPS can put the person at risk of injury and have devastating effects which can accelerate mortality and even lead to the need for earlier institutionalization. Unfortunately, long-term care facilities often turn these patients away because they are perceived as being too difficult and staff intensive. While some NPS can be treated medically, others may need to be managed with behavioral interventions, changes to environment, and professional care.
These symptoms are as much of a product of the disease or injury as changes to memory or motor skills, and can include agitation, anxiety and depression, psychosis, sleep disturbances, wandering, and many more.
NPS can put the person at risk of injury and have devastating effects which can accelerate mortality and even lead to the need for earlier institutionalization. Unfortunately, long-term care facilities often turn these patients away because they are perceived as being too difficult and staff intensive. While some NPS can be treated medically, others may need to be managed with behavioral interventions, changes to environment, and professional care.
These videos were created with support from Lundbeck and Otsuka.
Neuropsychiatric News & Updates
The Healthy Aging Blog on Neuropsychiatric Symptoms
Videos
Caring for a Loved One With Alzheimer’s Disease and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms: Anxiety & Depression
Carolyn Clevenger is a geriatric nurse practitioner at Emory University, where she leads the Integrative Memory Care Clinic. Carolyn cares…
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Caring for a Loved One With Alzheimer’s Disease and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms: Sleep Disturbances
Carolyn Clevenger is a geriatric nurse practitioner at Emory University, where she leads the Integrative Memory Care Clinic. Carolyn cares…
more.