Drugs Used to Treat Alzheimer's Worsening Sufferers' Illness

Quetiapine, a drug commonly used in nursing homes to treat agitation and related symptoms in people with Alzheimer's' disease actually worsens patients' illness, speeding up their rate of decline significantly, says a paper published on bmj.com.

Antipsychotic drugs are used in up to 45% of nursing homes to treat agitation, a common and distressing symptom of dementia (a catch-all term for diseases such as Alzheimer's.)

Researchers found that, when given a placebo as treatment for these symptoms, patients showed little change. But those patients given the commonly used antipsychotic drug quetiapine showed a marked worsening in the condition with marked deterioration of memory and other higher brain functions (cognitive decline).

This is particularly significant as quetiapine had been regarded as one of the safer of the antipsychotic drugs available, say the authors.