Korean J Psychopharmacol.
2003 Feb;14(Suppl):101-111.
Risperidone for Psychogeriatric Patients
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Psychiatry, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
- Elderly patients with dementia, delirium, schizophrenia and other psychotic symptoms are appropriate candidates for antipsychotic treatment. Risperidone is one of the newer atypical antipsychotic agents, which block serotonin and dopamine receptor, but does not block histamine and cholinergic receptor potently. Its unique pharmacologic profile would be of good advantage to the elderly patients. Elderly patients are usually more susceptible to many drug adverse effects. Compared with young patients, elderly patients who use risperidone have risks of postural hypotension, sedation, EPS and tardive dyskinesia. Starting and maintenance dosages of risperidone in elderly patients must be much lower than those recommended for younger patients. Clinicians who prescribe antipsy-chotics, including risperidone for elderly patients should start with a lower initial dosage and increase this slowly until the lowest effective dosage is reached. Polypharmacy is also a serious concern among elderly patients, who are often being treated for various medical problems. Clinicians should try to avoid prescribing multiple drugs with anticholinergic or sedative effects.
