Mayo clinic brought up the question from one of it’s readers, “how effective are anti-psychotics in treating alzheimer’s?”. Antpsychotics, among them, Thorazine and Prolixin. These drugs have been used in many cases to treat conditions other than those diagnosed as psychotic such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and mania.
While these drugs may be effective in treating these conditions, using these drugs to help reduce agitation in Alzheimer’s patients has proved less effective than once thought by the medical community. A black-box warning has been issued by the FDA on some anti psychotics after a slight increase in the risk of death by those people suffering from dementia.
See the story and more from this on MayoClinic.com
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Okay, my dad has been in ICU for 17 days, now on the step down from that…Originally in for being struck by a motorist, then alcohol withdrawal became a factor, then sundowning syndrome and now perhpas dementia….then again maybe not. he is NOT sleeping at night and agitated. He got out of bed, fell down and pulled out his PIC line and catheter. Docs want to give zyprexa, but if he could be early stages of dementia, that drug sounds bad. ;Plus he has history of heart attacks and high blood pressure.
What drug can we give him to helphim sleep. Respiritol didn’t work.
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