The use of antipsychotic medications in the elderly can be very complex and is ever changing. Consideration must be given to not only the physiologic and functional changes normally associated with age but also to the latest data on safety and adverse outcomes associated with using these agents. Because of new and changing information, this article will review the effects of aging, side effects of antipsychotic medications, and the current issues surrounding their use in elderly patients for those clinicians who are not specialists in this area of practice.
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