Nursing home residents with dementia may benefit by staying on the antipsychotic drug Risperdal, a study finds.
Investigators, led by New York State Psychiatric Institute’s D.P. Devanand, M.D., looked at 180 residents with Alzheimer’s disease who had psychosis or agitation who had been on Risperdal.
The study found that the residents who were switched from Risperdal to a placebo were more likely to relapse. Additionally, rates of side effects and death were not higher in those who continued with Risperdal, researchers discovered. Full findings appeared Oct. 18 in the New England Journal of Medicine. n
From the December 01, 2012 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
