LONDON, March 30 A British report said Alzheimer's patients are dying earlier because of controversial sedatives known as neuroleptics.A five-year study by Britain's Alzheimer's Research Trust found that patients died an average of six months earlier because of the sedatives, which are associated with a significant deterioration in verbal fluency and cognitive function, the organization said in a release.The report said up to 45 percent of people with Alzheimer's disease who live in nursing homes in Britain are given neuroleptics for treatment of symptoms such as aggression.Lead researcher Clive Ballard, professor of Age Related Disorders at King's College London, said there is no benefit of neuroleptics in treating Alzheimer's patients with mild behavioral disturbance.The neuroleptics in the study were thioridazine, chlorpromazine, haloperidol, trifluoperazine and risperidone.Copyright 2007 by UPI
