Experts have condemned the commonplace prescribing of sedatives to people in the UK with dementia.
It comes as a three-year study published in The Lancet Neurology reports a doubling of the risk of early death in those on the drugs long-term.
As many as 100,000 people in UK care homes with dementia are routinely prescribed anti-psychotic drugs for aggressiveness or agitation.
Ministers said they were reviewing the use of the drugs in dementia care.
Current guidelines state that anti-psychotics can be given to patients who are severely agitated or violent for short periods of time.
However, figures suggest the drugs are overused and are given for an average of one to two years.
Warnings
The latest research is not the first time the dangers of anti-psychotics in dementia patients have been reported. more from BBC
Showing posts with label drugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drugs. Show all posts
Friday, January 9, 2009
Monday, August 18, 2008
Diabetes drug Byetta causes deaths: FDA Warns
Several deaths were reported with the medication of diabetes drug, Byetta, marketed by Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co.
The Food and Drug Administration said Monday it has received six new reports of patients developing a dangerous form of pancreatitis while taking Byetta. Two of the patients died and four were recovering.
Regulators stressed that patients should stop taking Byetta immediately if they develop signs of acute pancreatitis, a swelling of the pancreas that can cause nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. The FDA warned that it is very difficult to distinguish acute pancreatitis from less dangerous forms of the condition.
The FDA announcement updated an October alert about 30 reports of Byetta patients developing pancreas problems. None of those cases were fatal, but Byetta's makers agreed to add information about the reports to the drug's label.
Byetta competes against blockbuster drugs from GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Takeda Pharmaceuticals in the $24 billion global market for diabetes medications, according to health care research firm IMS Health.
More than 700,000 patients with type 2 diabetes have used the injectable drug since it was launched in June 2005.
Read it full
The Food and Drug Administration said Monday it has received six new reports of patients developing a dangerous form of pancreatitis while taking Byetta. Two of the patients died and four were recovering.
Regulators stressed that patients should stop taking Byetta immediately if they develop signs of acute pancreatitis, a swelling of the pancreas that can cause nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. The FDA warned that it is very difficult to distinguish acute pancreatitis from less dangerous forms of the condition.
The FDA announcement updated an October alert about 30 reports of Byetta patients developing pancreas problems. None of those cases were fatal, but Byetta's makers agreed to add information about the reports to the drug's label.
Byetta competes against blockbuster drugs from GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Takeda Pharmaceuticals in the $24 billion global market for diabetes medications, according to health care research firm IMS Health.
More than 700,000 patients with type 2 diabetes have used the injectable drug since it was launched in June 2005.
Read it full
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