Antipsychotics increase in the elderly the risk of stroke

Take elderly patients antipsychotics, so increases their risk of suffering a stroke. Then, the German Stroke Society towards the occasion of a recent British study. Antipsychotics act, among other dampening effect on agitation, aggressive behavior and hallucinations. According to the study, the use is especially risky for people with dementia. Therefore, the German Stroke Society demands to reconsider the use of drugs in the elderly new.

Antipsychotics, also known as neuroleptics, are primarily used in the treatment of psychoses such as schizophrenia. But they are also often given to improve behavioral disorders caused by dementia, such as increased aggressiveness. A study recently published in the British Medical Journal has now shown that the drugs also increase the likelihood of suffering a stroke. Patients who took antipsychotics had a 1,7-fold increased risk of stroke. According to the study results, dementia patients are particularly at risk. Their stroke risk even increased three and a half times.

"According to the results of the study, all antipsychotics are associated with an increased risk of stroke," reports Professor Dr. med. Martin Grond, board member of the German Stroke Society and chief physician at the Siegen District Hospital. The risk with modern, so-called "atypical" antipsychotics, which are better tolerated per se, tends to be greater than with the older "typical" antipsychotics. The older drugs are often avoided today because they cause permanent damage to brain function, such as a movement disorder similar to Parkinson's disease. "Against this background, doctors have to rethink the use of antipsychotics in older people and, above all, people with dementia. They should only be prescribed when other treatment options have been exhausted," says Professor Grond.

Source:

Ian J Douglas, Liam Smeeth: Exposure to antipsychotics and risk of stroke: self controlled case series study. In: BMJ2008; 337:a1227

Source: Berlin [DSG]