Drugs most commonly used to soothe agitation and agression in Alzheimer patients, such as Zyprexa from Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), Seroquel from AstraZeneca (AZN) and Risperdal from Janssen Pharmaceutical, owned by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), are no more effective than placebos.
The report, based on a large comparison study of the drugs' effectiveness, challenges the practice of using the drugs when it can put patients at risk of serious side effects, so much so that it could alter prescribing habits.
About 4.5 million Americans suffer from the progressive dementia of Alzheimer's disease and as the disease advances so does the risk of increased agitation or even delusions.
As reported in this NYTimes.com article Spokesmen for Lilly, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which owns Janssen, noted that the drugs were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in Alzheimer’s patients, and that the companies did not market them for that purpose.
Know More about drug effectiveness at ThePharmVoice.com.
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