DEMENTIA

Using Antipsychtic Drugs in Dementia Patient

Using Antipsychtic Drugs in Dementia Patient

Introduction

Antipsychotics are a group of psychotropic drugs most commonly prescribed for elderly people, in particular, they are 5-8% of patients who are in psychiatric institutions. Antipsychotic drugs are indicated for the treatment of psychotic disorders, including delusional disorders, schizophrenia, certain organic psychoses and psychotic symptoms in affective disorders.

More than 80% of patients with dementia at some point, there are behavioral and psychiatric disorders, such as agitation, aggression, and psychosis (Ballard et al, 1995). This can be very distressing for the patients and burdensome for persons providing care for them. Because patients with similar symptoms are often placed in institutions for permanent residence. At present, antipsychotics remain the only well-established pharmacological treatment for behavioral and mental disorders in dementia.

One thing is clear that the wide development and usage of antipsychotics has added great benefit for the elderly patients, especially those who have been diagnosed with dementia.. The new atypical antipsychotic drugs radically changed the treatment of patients with schizophrenia young age. Studies that have examined these patients showed that the new atypical antipsychotic drugs as well (or more) effective as typical antipsychotic. In addition, they markedly reduces the negative side effects and are much less likely to cause extrapyramidal symptoms (Beasley et al., 1997; Wahlbeck et al., 1999). But the question that arises here is that whether there are enough evidence that atypical antipsychotics are effective in treating antipsychotic disorders caused by mental disorders And if so, what are their specific advantages compared to conventional antipsychotics? Is it possible on the basis of the increasing volume of literature to make the appropriate guidelines for the use of atypical antipsychotic drugs for mental disorders of old age?

Discussion

Many common mental disorders in the elderly are often accompanied by psychotic symptoms and behavioral problems. Much more often than other disorders, various forms of dementia observed.

Due to strict licensing rules adopted in America and Europe, and the impact of market pharmaceutical companies do not exhibit sufficient activity to give the right to use the new atypical antipsychotics in the elderly. Although recently became available for sale are allowed to prescribe antipsychotics for only younger patients with schizophrenia, they are widely used for the symptomatic treatment of several disorders. In the United States by the end of 1999 all of the prescription of antipsychotics atypical antipsychotics accounted for 61% (Byerly et al, 2001).

Typical antipsychotics

All typical antipsychotics are antagonists in the 2-dopamine receptors and to a greater extent than atypical cause extrapyramidal symptoms including akathisia, dystonia and parkinsonism due to blockade of B 2 receptors of the substantia nigra and the striatum. Older people in particular can easily occur, these side effects and symptoms of Parkinson's disease, according to reports, developed more than 50% of elderly patients receiving these drugs (Avorn et al., 1994). Profile of the typical side effects of antipsychotic drugs depends on their capacity.

Atypical antipsychotics

There are several definitions proposed of atypical medications, all of which were based on reported clozapine properties, the prototype ...