Learning of Risk of Alzheimer’s Seems to Do No Harm

A genetic test that can find an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease does no psychological harm to people who take it, even if they test positive for a risky gene, a new study finds.

The results challenge views long held by the medical establishment, which has discouraged people from being tested, arguing that the test is not definitive, that it may needlessly frighten people into thinking a terrible disease is hanging over them and that testing is pointless anyway because there is no way to cure or prevent the dementia caused by Alzheimer’s.

“There has been this extraordinary worry that disclosing risk was going to devastate people,” said Dr. Robert C. Green, a professor of neurology, genetics and epidemiology at Boston University, and the lead author of the study, which is being published on Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine. “This has upended those assumptions.”

The idea behind the study was to treat information like a drug, something with risks and benefits that could be measured, Dr. Green said.

Dr. Green led a large team in the study, called Reveal, in which 162 adults who had a close relative with Alzheimer’s could find out if they had the genes that increased their risk for the disease. All participants had genetic testing, but 51, picked at random, were not told the results. The other 111 were told, and the two groups were compared.

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Use of Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs Increases Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death

Patients aged 30 to 74 years who took atypical antipsychotics such as risperidone (Risperdal), quetiapine (Seroquel), olanzapine (Zyprexa), and clozapine (Clozaril) had a significantly higher risk of sudden death from cardiac arrhythmias and other cardiac causes than patients who did not take these medications, according to a study published in the January 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"This study provides critical information about the safety of atypical antipsychotics that can be used to make important treatment decisions for patients," said Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, Rockville, Maryland.

"These findings will help clinicians and patients weigh the risks versus the benefits of these drugs before prescribing them for treatment of depression or other off-label uses for other conditions."

READ MORE @ DOCTOR'S GUIDE