The question: Antipsychotic drugs are frequently used successfully to treat aggression and other behavioral problems that sometimes occur with Alzheimer's disease. But at what risk?
This study: It involved 128 people with Alzheimer's (average age, 85) who had been taking an antipsychotic for behavioral or psychiatric problems. They were randomly assigned to continue their medication or switch to a placebo for the next year. After almost four years, 76 of the participants had died. Overall, people who had taken an antipsychotic were 42 percent more likely to have died. After two years, 54 percent of the medication group and 29 percent of the placebo group had died. After four years, the mortality rates were 74 percent vs. 47 percent.
Caveats: Nearly all participants taking an antipsychotic took risperidone (Risperdal) or haloperidol (Haldol); whether the findings apply to other drugs is unclear.
Find this study: Jan. 9 online issue of the Lancet Neurology.
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