Drugs 'kill 23,000 Alzheimer's victims a year'

Some elderly folks simply prefer to keep busy,

scoff at antipsychotic drugs such as Risperdal and shoo away shrinks.


By Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent
01/04/2008

More than 23,000 elderly people with Alzheimer's could be dying prematurely in care homes each year after being given drugs to keep them quiet, a report claims today.

Anti-psychotic drugs, which are not licensed to treat dementia but are prescribed to control agitation, sleep disturbance and aggression, are being given to 100,000 elderly people to keep them "quiet and manageable", says a report by Paul Burstow, the Liberal Democrat MP and a campaigner for the rights of elderly people.

Despite studies that show the drugs can increase the risk of strokes and have other harmful side effects, the report claims the Government has failed to act to stem their use.

The report comes as research by three universities says long-term use of anti-psychotics offers "no long-term benefit for most patients".

The claims in the report will fuel the debate over the use of powerful drugs, dubbed "chemical coshes" because of their strong sedative effect, on care home residents.

Mr Burstow cited a yet-to-be published study by King's College London that gave a placebo to one group of Alzheimer's patients and anti-psychotics to another for 12 months.

The study, funded by the Alzheimer's Research Trust, found that after 24 months, the placebo group had a 78 per cent survival rate compared with 54.5 per cent for the rest; after 42 months the survival rates were 60 per cent versus 28 per cent.

Mr Burstow said: "There are around 244,000 people with dementia living in care homes, and the Alzheimer's Society estimates 100,000 are being given anti-psychotic drugs. Of those, I am saying that 23.5 per cent could be dying prematurely as a result of being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs - or 23,500 people a year."

More here:

http://tmap.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/drugs-kill-23000-alzheimers-victims-a-year/

You can find the legislator's report here: http://tinyurl.com/2ytdku

You can comment side by side with the Brits here: http://tinyurl.com/2cn5ba