Off-label use of antipsychotics for some conditions not supported by evidence, says US govt agency

There is little evidence to support the use of atypical antipsychotic drugs for some treatments other than their officially approved purposes, even though many clinicians continue to commonly prescribe these drugs for so-called "off label" uses, according to a new report from the US Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The report finds that atypical antipsychotic medications - approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and, in some cases, depression - are commonly prescribed to treat other behavioral conditions.

The report, which is an update of a 2007 study, found some evidence to support the off-label use of atypical antipsychotic medications. Evidence was strongest, for example, for the off-label use of risperidone, olanzapine and aripiprazole to treat symptoms of dementia; quetiapine to treat generalized anxiety disorder; and risperidone to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder.