A new review into antipsychotic drug treatments for dementia patients suggests there are many instances where these drugs are being prescribed without reason and that, ultimately, unnecessary death can be the outcome. Antipsychotics are administered to approximately 180,000 people with dementia each year as a means of aggression management. The supply of them takes place in care homes, domestic residences and hospitals alike but, according to the study - carried out at the request of British MPs - they didn't need to be taken in close to 80 per cent of cases.

Dementia Treatments

The British government has now pledged to implement a number of measures to be used instead of antipsychotic drugs as dementia treatments, such as provision of alternative therapies (like one-on-one counselling sessions), and dedicated dementia-based training for care workers. Pivotal to this is the appointment of a UK dementia treatment director to regulate these measures' implementation.

Antipsychotic Drug Treatments

Antipsychotic drug treatments are a longstanding area of concern within the medical industry. Meant in the first instance to be taken by schizophrenics, their area of treatment coverage has been expanded considerably in recent years and they are now prescribed for numerous conditions, dementia among them. Official data indicates that 700,000 UK residents suffer from dementia, but 300,000 more cases are forecast to be diagnosed over the next decade - a result of a population that continues to live for longer.

The new study was spearheaded by Professor Sube Banerjee of King's College London, and it conceded that in some instances, antipsychotic treatments represented the sole viable option available. However, their treatment period should not extend beyond three months, and they should only be prescribed for cases when there was a significant personal danger element, Professor Banerjee and his colleagues stated. And, out of the 180,000 antipsychotic drug prescriptions made out annually to dementia patients, just 36,000 of these could be regarded as beneficial, they explained.

Dementia Drugs

A possible result of the government's new intervention, though, could be that 66 per cent fewer of these dementia drugs end up being given out by around 2012, Banerjee suggested.

"We know there are situations where anti-psychotic drug use is necessary - we're not calling for a ban, but we do want to see a significant reduction in use", Phil Hope, Minister of State for Health, added.