Antipsychotic drugs that are used "off-label"
for controlling violent behavior in mentally challenged patients are less
effective than placebos and dummy pills, according to a new British study.
The report flies in the face of standard practices in
nursing homes and mental health clinics, which regularly prescribe
antipsychotics for off-label purposes, experts said.
In the study, 86 people with low IQs or other mental
problems were given Risperdal or a generic form of Haldol (both are
antipsychotics) or a placebo pill. After one month of study, patients receiving
the placebo had calmed down significantly more than either of the groups on the
anti-psychotics, researchers said.
The extra attention given to patients caused much of the
calming affect, claims Dr. Peter J. Tyrer, a professor of psychiatry at
Imperial College London who led the research effort.
"These people tend to get so little company
normally. They're neglected, they tend to be pushed into the background, and
this extra attention has a much bigger effect on them that it would on a person
of a more normal intelligence level," Dr. Tyrer said.
But though the report concluded that the routine
prescription of the drugs for aggression "should no longer be regarded as a
satisfactory form of care," authors also noted that their report
"should not be interpreted as an indication that antipsychotic drugs have
no place in the treatment of some aspects of behavior disturbance."