Journal Top Ten, COLUMNS-Drugs and Supplements, October 2004

1 RELATED DRUGS: Antipsychotics

ARTICLE: 'Antipsychotic drug prescribing in the elderly is cause for concern'

SUMMARY: Despite most studies of antipsychotic efficacy and safety having been conducted in young patients with schizophrenia, antipsychotic agents are often prescribed in elderly subjects with psychotic symptoms. The aim of this study was to document and describe the level of antipsychotic exposure among elderly subjects. We used the Regional Administrative Database of Lombardy, a region of northern Italy with more than 1.6 million elderly inhabitants, to extract all antipsychotic prescriptions dispensed during 2001 to subjects aged 65 years or above. …