Alzheimer’s Symptoms Return When Drug Stopped

Behavior symptoms may return if people with Alzheimer’s disease stop taking a medicine that has helped them, a new study suggests. Some people with Alzheimer’s disease have symptoms of psychosis. For example, they may hear or see things that aren’t there or have false beliefs (delusions). Some may become anxious, angry or violent. Some people get symptom relief from risperidone (Risperdal) or other anti-psychotic drugs. But other research has found that Alzheimer’s patients taking such drugs may die sooner. U.S. drug guidelines recommend careful monitoring of these patients. The new study included 110 people with Alzheimer’s. All of them had taken risperidone for 4 months and had responded well. They were randomly divided into 3 groups. One group kept taking the drug for 8 months. One continued for 4 months, then switched to placebo (fake) pills.