Drugs used to calm Alzheimer's patients make their condition worse

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study shows that quetiapine accelerates cognitive decline in patients with dementia.
Agitation is a common symptom linked to Alzheimer's disease. Antipsychotic drugs are often given to deal with the problem. Quetiapine has been thought to be one of the safer of these medications, but this may not be so according to a new study from researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, London.

They studied a group of 93 patients with dementia and compared those on quetiapine with those on placebo. The former experienced more rapid cognitive decline, meaning their dementia was getting worse with quetiapine. In fact quetiapine had been thought safer than other antipsychotics, namely risperidone and olanzapine. The findings suggest that new ways need to be sought for dealing with the issue of agitation in dementia.

Source
BMJ Online First 18th February 2005

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