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Guidelines recommend the use of antipsychotics in dementia patients only when symptoms are severe or dangerous or cause the patient significant distress. Discontinuation of the drugs should be attempted within 4 months of initiation if adequate symptomatic response occurs and patients have not previously experienced symptom recurrences after prior attempts.
To further assess risks of tapering or discontinuing antipsychotic medications in Alzheimer disease, investigators studied 110 patients whose baseline agitation or psychosis responded positively to risperidone (average dose, 1 mg/day) during an open-label, 16-week period (mean age, 80; 72% white; 60% women). These improved patients were then randomized to continued risperidone for 32 week…