Elderly folks ages 65 and up who are living in a nursing home and taking certain antipsychotic medications for dementia could be hastening their death.

A new Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Brigham and Women's Hospital study has discovered that some types of antipsychotic medication present more of a risk of death in older dementia patients than others.

Research: Differential risk of death in older nursing home residents prescribed specific antipsychotic medications: Population-based cohort study.

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept.

A review of previous studies suggests that even though atypical antipsychotic medications are commonly used for off-label conditions such as behavioral symptoms of dementia, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, these medications are effective for only a few off-label conditions, and that the benefits and harms of these medications for these uses vary.