MedPage Today (8/18, George) reports, “Psychotropic drugs and opioids were prescribed frequently to adults with dementia,” investigators concluded after examining data on “737,839 community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries who had a dementia diagnosis on a claim for a face-to-face clinical encounter from October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015.” The study revealed that “nearly 75% of older adults with dementia had at least one prescription for a central nervous system (CNS)-active medication,” such as an antidepressant, opioid analgesic, epilepsy medication, anxiety medication, or an antipsychotic, “filled in a one-year period.” Not one of these medications is “approved in the U.S. to treat dementia or its behavioral symptoms and all are associated with adverse events among older adults, including falls, sedation, and increased risk of death, the researchers noted.” The findings were published Aug. 18 in a research letter in JAMA.(SOURCE: APA Headlines)