Antipsychotic medication may not be the answer (Image: Andrzej Krauze)

ARE we too quick to prescribe psychotropic medication for emotional and behavioural problems? Take Alzheimer’s disease. In an attempt to reduce their aggressive behaviour, up to 60 per cent of people with Alzheimer’s in Europe and North America are prescribed antipsychotic medications such as Risperdal (risperidone) and Zyprexa (olanzapine). The estimated cost of these drugs is £80 million a year in the UK alone.

People given antipsychotics are sedated and become less aggressive or agitated, but compared with placebo the benefits seem modest at best. In 2006, a 42-centre …