-February 2, 2006
Recent studies have revealed that people with schizophrenia that are prescribed more than one medication, such as Clozaril and Risperdal , showed no signs of improvement over those who take only one anti-psychotic medication.
Schizophrenia is a severe disorder in the brain’s functioning. It can cause delusions, paranoia, and hallucinations. Often times, it is difficult to treat with medications alone. Because of this, many doctors prescribe more than one anti-psychotic drug at a time. This is a common practice, according to Dr. William Honer, the chief author of the study.
According to Dr. Honer’s findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine , patients who took the drug Clozaril, coupled with the drug Risperdal , showed the same degree of improvement as a group of patients who were only prescribed Clozaril . Those in the Risperdal group actually showed an increase in memory deterioration.
Clozapine , the generic form of Novartis AG’s Clozaril , is an atypical antipsychotic drug for the treatment of schizophrenia. In addition to the mild Clozaril side effects, which can include fast or irregular heartbeat, fever, low blood pressure, and dizziness, this drug has been linked with diabetes, hyperglycemia, pancreatitis, and ketoacidosis, a potentially deadly complication of elevated blood sugar.
The drug Risperdal is also meant to be an acute treatment and maintenance therapy in schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. Risperdal side effects include insomnia, anxiety, hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, first degree AV-block, seizures, gynecomastia, stroke, blood clots, and death.
While not included in Honer’s study, Zyprexa is another popular atypical anti-psychotic medication, which is often prescribed in conjunction other schizophrenia medications. This drug has been linked to hyperglycemia, diabetes, ketoacidosis, and even death. The risk of fatal Zyprexa side effects seems particularly elevated in the elderly population.
Recently, Dr. Honer’s study has been met with criticism from those who feel his results should not be considered definitive. While additional studies would help produce supporting evidence to Dr. Honer’s conclusions, it would appear that prescribing multiple antipsychotics is not beneficial to patient suffering from serious psychiatric conditions. Dr. Honer believes that doctors should focus on finding a medication that is more effective, rather than issuing multiple anti-psychotics to treat a complex condition.
Due to the serious side effects associated with antipsychotic medications, prescribing multiple drugs may actually pose more harm than potential benefit.
For more information on drug safety concerns, please contact us.
More Recent Defective Drug News
