Home

  • Home
    • » e-Newsletters

Older dementia drugs no safer, study finds

LTC Liability Monitor, December 29, 2005

Several studies released earlier this year suggested newer antipsychotic drugs nearly doubled the risk of death for seniors with dementia. More recent research, however, suggests that older dementia drugs are no safer, and might even be more dangerous than the newer ones, reported the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston analyzed prescription and death records for close to 23,000 elderly patients. They found that 18% of patients who took older antipsychotics, such as Thorazine and Haldol, died in the first six months of the prescription, compared to 15% of patients who took newer drugs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April requested that drug makers add warnings to the labels of the newer drugs. Researchers suggested the FDA follow suit with the older drugs as well, the Plain Dealer reported.

Most Popular