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Although the atypical antipsychotic drugs such as olanzapine (Zyprexa), quetiapine (Seroquel), and risperidone (Risperdal) are FDA-approved only for treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar mania, clinicians frequently use them to treat agitation in patients with dementia. However, in April 2005, the FDA issued an advisory about increased mortality in elderly demented patients with behavioral disorders who are treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs; this advisory resulted in a black-box warning now included in the prescribing information for these drugs. Later in 2005, a published meta-analysis reached a similar conclusion, based on death rates of 3.5% in patients receiving atypical antipsychotic drugs and 2.3% in placebo recipients in 15 …