By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, March 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) Many older adults with dementia are prescribed dangerous combinations of drugs that raise their risk of overdose, falls and further mental deterioration, a new study finds.
About 1 in 7 people with dementia living outside of nursing homes are taking three or more drugs that act on their brain and nervous system, researchers reported.
The most troubling combinations involved opioids, noted lead researcher Dr. Donovan Maust, an associate professor of psychiatry at Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan s academic medical center.
Opioids are prescribed for pain, but they carry a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-required black box warning of overdose and death if they are taken alongside benzodiazepines, antipsychotics and anti-seizure medications, Maust said.