Despite the recent attempt of the government to reign in the amount of antipsychotic medication that nursing homes received, recent studies have found that in 2008, antipsychotics still represented 9 percent of all prescriptions in this group.

According to an article on MSN Health,

Anti-psychotics, developed to treat psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are widely used “off label” to control difficult behavior in elderly people with dementia.

Indeed, Dorsey said he suspects that the vast majority of the use documented in his research is “off label.”

In the United States, no anti-psychotics are approved to calm behavior, although one such drug, risperidone (Risperdal), is approved for that indication in Canada. Black box warnings are rare for off-label use.

This class of “atypical anti-psychotics” includes Risperdal, Abilify, Seroquel and Zyprexa.

The problem is that the only medications that have been shown to help sway these behavioral problems are antipsychotics, and even though the side effects may not affect some patients, some patients experience significant problems.

In 2005 the FDA had issued warnings and since there has been a noticeable drop in over prescribing.  The declines were evident within one month of the warning and  by 2008, antipsychotic use among this older population decreased more than 50 percent.

However, it’s not clear if that drop is enough, or if the drugs are still being over prescribed and over used for off label uses, leaving the elderly still at risk to experience unnecessary side affects.

Over all, the study found that “If you enter a nursing home that has a higher proportion of people on antipsychotics, you are also likely to be put on antipsychotics.” So be aware of this if you or a loved one is thinking of staying at a nursing home.