New danger of antipsychotic drugs used in Alzheimer's disease

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Patients taking antipsychotic drugs to relieve behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer's disease had slightly increased mortality.
The agitation, delusions and aggression that often accompany Alzheimer's disease are often managed with antipsychotic drugs of the type used in schizophrenia. Recently there has been a shift from the more traditional antispychotics such as haloperidol towards the more modern atypicals, such as risperidone. But are there risks associated with the use of the drugs?

A team at the University of Southern California now reports on a review of the use of atypical antipsychotics in dementia. Those on the drugs had a 3.5 per cent death rate compared to 2.3 per cent for those on placebo. The findings suggest that these drugs should be prescribed with some care and certainly not in a routine way. The researchers add that they do not know if this risk is confined to atypical antipsychotics or would apply to the older drugs as well - there is not enough data to be sure of this.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association 19th October 2005 Volume 294 pages 1934-1943

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