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Biomedical subjects

J P Lacro

Publications and source records attributed to J P Lacro.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Antipsychotic-Induced movement disorders in the elderly: epidemiology and treatment recommendations.

We reviewed the epidemiological aspects of antipsychotic-induced movement disorders as they pertain to older patients. The incidence and prevalence of drug-induced parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia (TD) are significantly greater in the older patient than in the younger patient whereas akathisia seems to occur evenly across the age spectrum and dystonia is uncommon among older patients. The literature on risk factors associated with treatment-emergent movement disorders is highly variable. Treatment practices vary across the age range and the interaction between age and antipsychotic dosage confounds our understanding of the relative importance of treatment-related risk factors. However, there is general agreement that pre-existing extrapyramidal signs (EPS) increase the vulnerability of the patient to developing significant drug-induced movement disorders. Elderly patients with dementia are at greater risk than patients without dementia for persistent drug-induced EPS. Management of drug-induced movement disorders in the older patient requires careful consideration of the contraindications imposed by such agents as anticholinergics and beta-blockers. At present, well-controlled double-blind studies of second-generation antipsychotics such as clozapine, risperidone. olanzapine or quetiapine for reducing the risk of treatment-emergent movement disorders in the elderly have not been published. However, open-label studies of atypical antipsychotics demonstrate a markedly lower incidence of both EPS and TD compared with conventional antipsychotic treatment in the elderly. There is emerging literature in support of atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of existing drug-induced movement disorders. More controversial is the use of adjunctive antioxidants in newly treated patients who are vulnerable to drug-induced movement disorders. While the evidence is mixed in support of antioxidants for the treatment of TD, the possibility remains that prophylactic use of antioxidants may help reduce the incidence of TD. The development of a drug-induced movement disorder often reduces the quality of life in an elderly patient. Effective pharmacological management requires cooperation from the patient and family, which can be fostered early in the patient's care through proper informed consent. The risks and benefits of antipsychotic treatment in the elderly patient need to be communicated to the patient and family. At the present time, there is no consistently effective treatment for patients with TD once it develops. Therefore, attention should focus on its prevention and close monitoring.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Incidence and predictors of drug-induced parkinsonism in older psychiatric patients treated with very low doses of neuroleptics.

The available literature suggests that a sizable proportion of patients placed on neuroleptics develop acute and subacute extrapyramidal side effects, including neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism (NIP). The presence of mild, spontaneous extrapyramidal signs in the elderly makes it difficult to accurately estimate the incidence of NIP in this subgroup of patients. We examined the incidence of NIP in 56 older, newly medicated, psychiatric patients. Fifteen age-comparable, unmedicated psychiatric patients underwent 2 assessments to estimate natural fluctuation in extrapyramidal signs, and 49 normal, healthy, elderly individuals were also studied to establish age-comparable norms for the assessment of parkinsonism. Potential pretreatment predictor variables included instrumental measures of motor function, age, cognitive status, and psychiatric diagnosis. After controlling for spontaneous parkinsonism, 32% of patients met strict criteria for NIP after receiving an average of 43 mg/day chlorpromazine equivalents of a typical neuroleptic. Factors contributing to the development of NIP included older age, instrumentally derived tremor, baseline extrapyramidal signs, type of neuroleptic, and severity of dementia. The use of risperidone in a small subsample was not associated with NIP. These findings indicate that even after controlling for spontaneous extrapyramidal signs at baseline and their natural fluctuations, there is a substantial risk of NIP in older patients who are treated with very low doses of typical neuroleptics.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Lower incidence of tardive dyskinesia with risperidone compared with haloperidol in older patients.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the 9-month cumulative incidence of tardive dyskinesia (TD) with risperidone to that with haloperidol in older patients. DESIGN: A prospective longitudinal study. SETTING: An outpatient psychiatric clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects were middle-aged and older (mean age 66 years) patients with schizophrenia, dementia, mood disorders, or other conditions with psychotic symptoms or severe behavioral disturbances. Sixty-one patients on risperidone were matched with 61 patients from a larger sample of haloperidol-treated patients in regard to age, diagnosis, and length of pre-enrollment neuroleptic intake to create clinically comparable groups. The median daily dose of each medication was 1.0 mg. MEASUREMENTS: Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale, modified Simpson-Angus' scale for extrapyramidal symptoms, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and Mini-Mental State Examination were administered at baseline, 1 month, and 3, 6, and 9 months. The diagnosis of TD was based on specific research criteria. The raters were blind to the patient's medication status. RESULTS: Life table analysis revealed that patients treated with haloperidol were significantly more likely to develop TD than patients treated with risperidone (P < .05, Peto-Prentice). CONCLUSIONS: The atypical antipsychotic risperidone is significantly less likely to result in TD than the conventional neuroleptic haloperidol in a high-risk group of older patients, at least over a 9-month period.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Incidence of tardive dyskinesia in early stages of low-dose treatment with typical neuroleptics in older patients.

OBJECTIVE: The authors studied the risk of tardive dyskinesia for older patients in the early stages of treatment with typical neuroleptics. METHOD: They examined the cumulative incidence of tardive dyskinesia 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the institution of neuroleptic therapy among 307 psychiatric outpatients over age 45. The patients' median dose was 68.4 mg/day of chlorpromazine equivalent. RESULTS: In the patients who had never received neuroleptics at baseline (N = 87), the mean cumulative incidence of tardive dyskinesia was 3.4% and 5.9% at 1 and 3 months, respectively. There was no significant difference in the 12-month cumulative incidence of tardive dyskinesia among patients who had been neuroleptic-naive at baseline (22.3%) and the 89 patients who had received neuroleptics before baseline for 1-30 days (24.6%); however, the 131 patients who had received neuroleptics before baseline for more than 30 days tended to have a greater cumulative 12-month incidence of tardive dyskinesia (36.9%). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of tardive dyskinesia in older outpatients is high, even with relatively short treatment with low doses of conventional neuroleptics.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1997

Geriatric psychosis.

This article reviews diagnostic and treatment issues which merit special consideration in the elderly psychotic patient. Psychoses are serious psychiatric disorders and can present in different forms in the elderly. The important ones include schizophrenia, psychosis in patients with dementia, psychosis in patients with depression and delusional disorder. Typical and atypical antipsychotic medications remain the treatment of choice for psychotic disorders but special considerations are warranted when prescribed to elderly patients. We have highlighted differences between younger and older adults in terms of clinical characteristics and treatment of psychotic disorders.

Age of Onset↗
PubMed1997

Incidence and risk factors for severe tardive dyskinesia in older patients.

BACKGROUND: Severe tardive dyskinesia (TD) represents a serious and potentially disabling movement disorder, yet relatively little is known about the incidence of and risk factors for severe TD. METHOD: We report the results of a longitudinal prospective incidence study of severe TD in 378 middle-aged and elderly neuropsychiatric patients. Psychiatric, neuropsychological, pharmacological and motor variables were obtained at intake and at regular intervals for 36 months. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of severe TD was 2.5% after one year, 12.1% after two years, and 22.9% after three years. Individual univariable Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify demographic, psychiatric, motor and pharmacological predictors of severe TD. Results indicated that higher daily doses of neuroleptics at study entry, greater cumulative amounts of prescribed neuroleptic, and greater severity of worsening negative symptoms were predictive of severe TD. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that conventional neuroleptics may be prescribed to older patients only when necessary and at the lowest effective dosage. Additional caution is recommended in patients exhibiting negative symptoms.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Medical comorbidity in schizophrenia.

The extent and consequences of medical comorbidity in patients with schizophrenia are generally underrecognized. Patients with comorbid conditions are usually excluded from research studies, although they probably represent the majority of individuals with schizophrenia. Elderly patients are especially likely to have comorbid disorders. In this article, we review selected literature on medical comorbidity in schizophrenia, including physical illnesses, substance use, cognitive impairment, sensory deficits, and iatrogenic comorbidity. Data from the University of California, San Diego Clinical Research Center on late-life psychosis are also presented. Older schizophrenia patients report fewer comorbid physical illnesses than healthy comparison subjects, but their illnesses tend to be more severe. These results suggest that schizophrenia patients may receive less than adequate health care. Substance abuse is more common in patients with schizophrenia than in the general population and may exacerbate psychiatric symptoms in these patients. Although generalized cognitive impairment is associated with schizophrenia, the main contributors to dementia in older patients are more likely to be comorbid neurological and other physical disorders, substance abuse, and medication side effects. Iatrogenic comorbidity results primarily from the use of neuroleptic (e.g., tardive dyskinesia) and anticholinergic (e.g., confusion) medications. Clinical and research recommendations are made for management of comorbidity in schizophrenia.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1996

Management of late-life psychosis.

Since the average lifespan is becoming longer, the number of older patients with psychoses is expected to increase. Late-life schizophrenia is prototypical of these chronic psychotic disorders. Antipsychotic drugs are the most effective symptomatic treatment. Pharmacotherapy in older patients, however, is complicated by alterations in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. The risk of many adverse effects is considerably higher in the elderly. For example, we found the cumulative annual incidence of tardive dyskinesia among patients over age 45 to be 26%, which was five to six times greater than that reported in younger patients. Studies suggest that most patients with schizophrenia relapse without neuroleptic maintenance therapy, exemplifying the need for improved pharmacologic regimens. Data concerning the use of the newer serotonin-dopamine antagonists in patients with late-life psychoses are limited. Initial studies suggested that clozapine is efficacious, but its use is limited by side effects. Risperidone is also clinically beneficial and is generally well tolerated, but needs to be prescribed in lower doses than those recommended for younger adults. Antipsychotic use in the elderly should be accompanied by careful conservative dosing and close patient monitoring.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Relationship of ethnicity and gender to schizophrenia and pharmacology of neuroleptics.

There is considerable heterogeneity in the psychopathology of schizophrenia and the response to neuroleptic treatment, at least some of which may result from ethnicity and gender differences among subjects. We review the literature relevant to ethnic and gender differences in psychopathology and neuroleptic response in schizophrenia. Studies reveal several diagnosis- and treatment-related differences in schizophrenia among different ethnic and gender groups. Some of these differences might be biological in origin, others due to cultural or environmental factors. In studies conducted in our center, we found no differences in psychopathology or amount of neuroleptic therapy between African-American and Caucasian patients. We did note that African-American patients in our sample had a somewhat greater risk of developing tardive dyskinesia than their Caucasian counterparts. The incidence of tardive dyskinesia was similar for males and females. Our studies of neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia were restricted to patients over age 45, though there were no ethnic or gender differences in the daily neuroleptic dose. Future work in this area should carefully compare ethnic and gender differences in treatment response.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Risk of tardive dyskinesia in older patients. A prospective longitudinal study of 266 outpatients.

BACKGROUND: Neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a major iatrogenic disorder that is more prevalent among older patients. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of and risk factors for TD in neuroleptic-treated patients over age 45 years. METHODS: We studied 266 middle-aged and elderly outpatients with a median duration of 21 days of total lifetime neuroleptic exposure at study entry. Most patients were treated throughout the study with either a high-potency or a low-potency neuroleptic and maintained on relatively low doses. The patients were followed up at 1- to 3-month intervals with "blind" assessment of psychopathologic condition, clinically as well as instrumentally (ie, using electromechanical sensors with computerized data reduction, including spectral analysis) evaluated movement disorder, and global cognitive function. RESULTS: Cumulative incidence of TD was 26%, 52%, and 60% after 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. The principal risk factors for TD were duration of prior neuroleptic use at baseline, cumulative amount of high-potency neuroleptics, history of alcohol abuse/dependence, borderline or minimal dyskinesia, and tremor on instrumental assessment. CONCLUSION: Use of higher amounts of neuroleptics, particularly high-potency ones, should be avoided in older patients, patients with alcohol abuse/dependence, or patients with a subtle movement disorder at baseline; these patients are at a higher risk of developing TD.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1994

Physical comorbidity and polypharmacy in older psychiatric patients.

We compared three groups of older psychiatric outpatients on numbers and types of physical illnesses and on number of nonpsychotropic medications. The subjects included 62 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 41 with major depression (MD), and 78 with schizophrenia (SZ). The mean age in this predominantly male population was 68.4 years. Psychiatric diagnoses were based on DSM-III-R criteria. We utilized intake psychiatric assessments, chart reviews, and computerized pharmacy profiles to collect the data. The patients with SZ had significantly lower comorbidity compared to patients with MD, and had a significantly lower number of nonpsychotropic medications prescribed than both the AD and MD groups. These findings may reflect biological differences or may be secondary to differences in psychiatric treatment or in the use of health care resources. Alternatively, the low prevalence of physical comorbidity in SZ may represent a survivor or healthier cohort of patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Pharmacists' role in clozapine therapy at a Veterans Affairs medical center.

A program in which pharmacists have an active role in prescribing and dispensing psychoactive drugs is described. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has established a National Clozapine Coordinating Center (NCCC) that must approve all clozapine therapy in VA medical centers. Clinical and demographic information is required for all new patients, and weekly status reports are required throughout clozapine therapy. To comply with NCCC requirements, pharmacists with specialized training in psychopharmacology organized a clozapine clinic at one VA medical center, in conjunction with the psychiatry service. The pharmacists screen potential candidates for clozapine therapy and forward the required information to the NCCC for approval. During treatment, they ensure that necessary laboratory tests and clinical evaluations are performed for inpatients and recommend dosage adjustments to the psychiatry residents. The pharmacists see outpatients receiving clozapine weekly to monitor and record vital signs, laboratory results, and response to therapy and make dosage adjustments accordingly. For both inpatients and outpatients, the pharmacists send weekly patient evaluations to the NCCC. Pharmacists at a VA medical center provide direct care to patients receiving clozapine and help their institution comply with the stringent therapy-monitoring requirements of the NCCC.

California↗
PubMed1994

Early course of new-onset tardive dyskinesia in older patients.

The risk of neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia (TD) in older patients is known to be high, yet the course of TD in older patients has not been systematically studied. We followed 69 middle-aged and elderly outpatients newly diagnosed with TD in a naturalistic, longitudinal, prospective fashion. Standardized assessment instruments were administered to measure psychopathology, cognitive impairment, and abnormal movements. We observed a highly fluctuating early course of TD. Although the cumulative proportion of patients whose TD partially remitted was quite high (56% at 3 months, and 80% at 6 months), the cumulative proportion of patients whose TD relapsed (post-remission) was also high (33% at 3 months and 54% at 6 months). These findings may have clinical as well as theoretical implications for TD in older subjects.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Treatment of late-life schizophrenia with neuroleptics.

There is a death of literature on the effects of neuroleptics in older schizophrenia patients. In this article, we review the available literature and present findings from our own studies. Neuroleptics are effective in the treatment of late-life schizophrenia, although older patients generally need lower dosages than younger subjects. Neuroleptics, however, carry a relatively high risk of side effects such as tardive dyskinesia (TD) in middle-aged and elderly patients. By the end of 1 year of a prospective longitudinal study of neuroleptic treatment, we found a 26 percent cumulative incidence of TD among schizophrenia patients over age 45. If neuroleptics are withdrawn, there is a significant risk of a schizophrenic relapse; however, that risk is no greater in older patients than in younger ones. We offer clinical recommendations for the use of neuroleptics in the treatment of late-life schizophrenia.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychopharmacists' role in neuroleptic therapy. A pharmaceutical care approach.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the roles of the psychopharmacist in the use of neuroleptic therapy. SETTING: A geriatric psychiatry ambulatory care clinic in a 400-bed Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, California. CONCLUSIONS: In the pharmaceutical care model, the pharmacist is involved in several important roles in the provision of neuroleptic therapy. In the ambulatory care program, psychopharmacists provide important drug-related information to patients and consultation regarding potential neuroleptic-induced adverse effects. In addition, psychopharmacists serve as consultants to other clinicians concerning the risks associated with the use of neuroleptics and participate in neuroleptic-discontinuation clinics. Morbidity associated with neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia has exposed healthcare providers to legal repercussions; therefore, pharmacy intervention may aid in the reduction of legal liability.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ethnicity and movement disorders.

This article is a review of studies involving ethnicity and spontaneous as well as iatrogenic movement disorder. We have focused on Parkinson's disease and tardive dyskinesia. Some early studies reported that African Americans had lower rates of Parkinson's disease than Caucasians, whereas more recent surveys have not found such a difference. Several studies suggested that African Americans have a higher risk of developing tardive dyskinesia than Caucasians, even when differences in neuroleptic drug use are accounted for. Asians seem to have a lower or equal risk of developing tardive dyskinesis as compared with Caucasians. We discuss the possible contribution of ethnicity to the etiology of movement disorders and the implications thereof.

Adolescent↗