Anti-psychotics may speed Alzheimer's decline

USA TODAY
Anti-psychotics may speed Alzheimer's decline
By Kathleen Fackelmann
April 7, 2008

Anti-psychotic drugs frequently used in nursing homes to treat aggression in Alzheimer's patients don't provide any benefit and seem to lead to a marked decline in verbal ability, a report says.

The study, published in the April issue of the journal Public Library of Science Medicine, adds to a long line of evidence suggesting such drugs aren't safe in elderly patients and don't work very well when used off-label.

The Food and Drug Administration warned doctors in 2005 that some anti-psychotic drugs could increase the risk of death when given to older patients in nursing homes.

Yet the drugs are widely prescribed. An estimated 30% to 60% of nursing home patients in the USA are given the drugs, and many of the patients have Alzheimer's, a progressive brain disease that sometimes leads to aggressive behavior, says Ralph Nixon, a spokesman for the Alzheimer's Association.

Doctors often prescribe these drugs because they act as sedatives for difficult patients, says researcher Robin Jacoby, a geriatric psychiatrist at the University of Oxford in England.

Often an underlying medical problem, such as an untreated urinary tract infection, causes an Alzheimer's patient to behave aggressively, Jacoby says.

More here:
http://tmap.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/anti-psychotics-may-speed-alzheimers-decline/