Antipsychotic Drugs Increase Risk Of Death In Older People With Dementia It has long been a concern that the use of anti-psychotic drugs for elders with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia was not healthy. These drugs were designed to treat Mental Illness, not the symptoms of Dementia. However, dementia patients often suffer agitation, can be violent, and are hard to calm down. The widespread use of anti-psychotics to treat these symptoms was often just a convenience for caregivers and nursing homes. New research is showing that this may be a bad practice and should be carefully monitored. Some of the newer drugs show less problems, but the older drugs show an increased incidence of death among the elderly patients who received them. The FDA issued warnings in 2005 about the use of the newer drugs and their association with increased death. However, the study data was preliminary and not definitive. New, larger studies have found more definiti...
This blog is written by Elder Law Attorney, Edward H. Adamsky. You will find articles about Elder Law, Estate Planning, Special Needs, Disability, Alzheimer's Disease, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives, and other issues of important to families and elders.