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Dementia Patients Dying Early on
Sedatives: Study
(London, Reuters Health 03/30/07)
In a study funded by the Alzheimer's Research Trust,
Professor Clive Ballard of King's College London and
Professor Robin Jacoby of Oxford University, tracked 165
Alzheimer's patients over a period of five years. The
investigators found that patients prescribed anti-psychotic
drugs, including Risperdal, tended to experience cognitive
and verbal deterioration and died an average of six months
sooner than those given a placebo. The scientists speculate
that these medications may promote “adverse cerebrovascular
events, such as mini-strokes.” |