NEW ATYPICAL ANTIPSYCHOTICS - EXPERIENCE AND UTILITY IN THE ELDERLY

The atypical antipsychotics are a new class of agents with great promi se for use in the elderly because of their reduced propensity to cause acute extra-pyramidal adverse effects. Treatment of older patients wi th these agents, however, needs to take into consideration age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and the risks of drug-drug interactions. Additionally, current evidence of their efficacy in late-life psychose s is derived largely from case series and from the extrapolation of re sults obtained in studies of younger patients with schizophrenia. Cont rolled clinical studies of atypical antipsychotics in elderly patients are urgently needed.