Nearly every child who receives an antipsychotic medicine is first prescribed one of the second-generation, or “atypical” drugs, such as olanzapine and risperidone. However, there has never been evidence that these drugs are more effective than the older, first-generation medications.

Older adults with dementia who receive short-term courses of antipsychotic medications are more likely to be hospitalized or die than those who do not take the drugs, according to a report in the May 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A research team from Université Laval’s Faculty of Medicine and Robert-Giffard Hospital has demonstrated that weight gain induced by the use of antipsychotic drugs—which in extreme cases can be as high as 30 kilos in only one month—can be avoided through a specially designed weight control program.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today (August 22) approved Risperdal (risperidone) for the treatment of schizophrenia in adolescents, ages 13 to 17, and for the short-term treatment of manic or mixed episodes of bipolar I disorder in children and adolescents ages 10 to 17. This is the first FDA approval of an atypical antipsychotic drug to treat either disorder in these age groups.

A new study shows that use of antipsychotic drugs is associated with an early and sustained increase in risk of death when used to treat disruptive behavior of older adults with dementia.