A new study shows that widely prescribed antipsychotic medications like Zyprexa, Risperdal and Seroquel provide Alzheimer’s patients with little, if any, benefit.
“These medications are not the answer,” said Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health.
Doctors often prescribe these drugs to Alzheimer’s patients who have developed aggressive or delusional behavior. Antipsychotics are FDA approved to treat schizophrenia, and are generally not recommended for use in elderly patients with dementia-related psychotic symptoms.
Hallucinations and aggression afflict approximately 75 percent of all Alzheimer’s patients, often causing them to harm themselves or loved ones. Such behavior is the primary reason that Alzheimer’s patients are put in nursing homes.
Previous evidence suggested that antipsychotics might help alleviate these symptoms in Alzheimer’s sufferers. And doctors were willing to prescribe them because there were no real alternatives.
Study Findings
This recent study, however, shows that the risk of sudden death and other dangerous side effects do not make antipsychotics a beneficial alternative for these patients.
Researchers tested the drugs on 421 non-nursing home Alzheimer’s patients. According to the findings, four out of five patients discontinued use of the medications within the first two months because of side effects or overall ineffectiveness.
Side effects experienced by the patients included weight gain, grogginess, Parkinson’s-like symptoms, and worsening confusion. Some patients did experience an improvement of symptoms, which the researchers attributed to their natural ebb and flow.
Dr. Lon Schneider, lead researcher of the study, said that doctors should monitor elderly Alzheimer’s patients closely, especially because of their fragile health and the increased risk of death and side effects.
“Patients are put on these kinds of medications and not particularly monitored and treated for indefinite periods of time. That just maximizes risk,” he said.
The study is published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine .
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