If this is not your name, click here.
| | If this is not your name, click here. | | |
| | Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague | | |
| |  ACN MEETING: Zyprexa Reduces Behavioural, Psychiatric Symptoms Related To Alzheimer's INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- Dec. 15, 1998 -- New data demonstrates that Eli Lilly and Co.’s antipsychotic medication Zyprexa(R) (olanzapine) can significantly improve the behavioural and psychiatric symptoms related to Alzheimer's disease. The study was presented today at the 37th annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology in San Juan, Puerto Rico. "Behavioural disturbances such as psychotic symptoms of Alzheimer's disease represent a major challenge for patients and their caregivers, often resulting in the institutionalisation of patients," said Dilip Jeste, M.D., professor of psychiatry and neurosciences, University of California, San Diego and San Diego VA Medical Center and president of the American Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry. "Typical neuroleptic medications have been only modestly useful in treating these symptoms and also have several side effects. “Newer atypical antipsychotics such as Zyprexa that reduce the behavioural and psychotic symptoms of the disease while producing fewer side effects represent a significant advance in the treatment of these patients." Results of the multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study examined the safety and efficacy of Zyprexa. The data suggest that treatment with Zyprexa, particularly at the 5mg and 10mg daily dose was associated with a statistically significant improvement in certain behavioural and psychiatric symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease. Treatment at the 15mg daily dose was associated with numerically superior efficacy. The trial examined 206 nursing home patients with moderate to severe dementia. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a placebo or a fixed dose of 5mg, 10mg or 15mg of Zyprexa for six weeks. Patients were evaluated with caregiver-rated scale (known as the Neuropsychiatric Inventory/Nursing Home Version) that assesses psychopathology in dementia by measuring a patient's level of agitation, delusions and hallucinations. All subjects met criteria for possible or probable Alzheimer's disease using the criteria established by the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association. The percentage of patients exhibiting a 50 percent or greater improvement in symptoms (agitation/aggression, delusions and hallucinations) as measured by the caregiver scale was significantly greater for patients treated with 5 mg/day (65.5 percent) or 10 mg/day (57.1 percent) of Zyprexa compared with placebo (35.6 percent). Variable side effects were observed depending on the dosing range of Zyprexa but somnolence and abnormal gait were the only side effects reported significantly more frequently among patients taking Zyprexa than those taking placebo. As Alzheimer's disease progresses, it alters brain activity, impairs memory and causes psychosocial behavioural patterns which are often regarded as the most difficult features of the illness for families and society. Most people with Alzheimer's disease experience personality disorders or depression and a substantial number develop psychosis and behavioural disturbances. Paranoia (fearfulness), delusions, hallucinations and associated behaviours are the major signs of psychosis. These symptoms can affect nearly 73 percent of Alzheimer's disease patients at some time during the illness. These manifestations may lead to aggressive behaviour that require patients to be hospitalised or admitted to nursing homes. Several studies have indicated that these phenomena are defined by family and caregivers as the major stressors due to the illness. In this study, Zyprexa was shown to significantly improve the participating patient's condition with minimal side effects. Since Zyprexa was introduced in 1996 for the management of symptoms of psychotic disorders in schizophrenia patients, it has been prescribed for more than 1.8 million people world-wide. Related Links: Zyprexa, Eli Lilly and Co.
|
