According to a new study published in the British Medical Journal, UK researchers have found that all antipsychotic drugs used in psychosis treatment are associated with an increased risk of stroke. The study also found that people who suffer from dementia and use antipsychotic drugs have double the risk of stroke when compared to those who do not suffer from dementia.
Doctors first began raising concern regarding the potential increase in stroke risk for patients suffering from dementia who were taking the newer, “atypical” antipsychotic drugs in 2002. Despite little evidence to link the “atypical” antipsychotics to increased stroke risk, in 2004 the United Kingdom Committee on Safety of Medicines recommended that atypical antipsychotics should not be used in people with dementia.
UK researchers analyzed a sample of nearly 7,000 patients who had a stroke and at least one prescription for any antipsychotic medication between January 1988 and the end of 2002 and found that when patients were taking any antipsychotic drug, they were 1.7 times more likely to have a stroke than when not taking an antipsychotic. Sufferers of dementia were 3.5 times more likely to have a stroke when taking antipsychotic drugs than when not. Researchers also found that patients taking the newer “atypical” antipsychotics had a slightly higher risk of having a stroke than those taking older, “typical” antipsychotics.
Antipsychotic drugs are typically used to treat psychosis in patients with disorders such as schizophrenia, and some severe forms of depression. They are also used to control symptoms of dementia such as aggression.
The authors of the study strongly affirm that all types of antipsychotic drugs carry an increased risk for stroke and that the risks associated with using antipsychotic drugs in patients with dementia outweigh the benefits. They conclude that for patients suffering from dementia, the use of antipsychotic drugs should be avoided wherever possible.
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