In an article published in a recent issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, HCP Professor Sharon-Lise Normand, PhD, and colleagues described the results of their study of the effects of antipsychotic therapy in older adults with dementia. Noting that this therapy is widely used to treat aggressive behavior in patients who are not psychotic or schizophrenic, the researchers examined serious events that occurred within 30 days of initiation of such drug therapy on more than 40,000 patients, about half in nursing homes. The results of the study showed that adults who received these drugs were more likely than those who did not receive such therapy to develop a serious event during the subsequent 30-day period. The authors concluded that antipsychotic drugs should be prescribed with caution even for short-term use.

This study was widely covered in the media, including in Medical News Today, Bloomberg.com, Science Daily, CTV News, and Reuters.