A new report shows Alzheimer's patients given anti-psychotic drugs have a greater chance of dying than those who don't take the drugs.
The Washington Post reports a new look at previous studies shows drugs like Zyprexa and Risperdal -- often used to tranquilize patients who get aggressively agitated or delusional -- increase the risk of death by one percent.
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration began requiring warning labels on anti-psychotic drugs.
The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Samuel E. Gandy, the chair of the medical and scientific advisory council of the Alzheimer's Association, said more than 30 percent of the 4 million to 5 million people in the United States who have the disease are prescribed anti-psychotics.
The new concern comes from a review by lead investigator Lon S. Schneider of the University of Southern California, of 15 clinical trials of 5,000 patients over a 12 week span.
Most of the increased deaths came from cardiac and respiratory problems associated with patients being sedated and bedridden for an extended length of time.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
