But You Can See The Wool Being Pulled Over Your Eyes
Hallucinations and delusions are possible complications of Parkinson’s disease (PD). They are often referred to as PD psychosis. It’s estimated to occur in up to 50 percent of people with PD.
Hallucinations during PD can be frightening and debilitating. There are many factors that can contribute to hallucinations in people with PD, but the majority of cases occur as side effects of PD drugs.
Psychotic symptoms are related to high levels of a neurotransmitter known as dopamine, which is often one of the adverse reactions of psychiatric drugs.
There are many drugs that may contribute to hallucinations or delusions in people with PD, including sedatives and anti-seizure drugs.
Another danger is that a person experiencing PD psychosis may be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed antipsychotics which may cause serious side effects and can even make hallucinations and delusions worse.
In 2016 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the antipsychotic drug pimavanserin (Nuplazid) specifically for use in PD psychosis because it does not alter levels of dopamine in the brain as much as other antipsychotics.
However, Acadia Pharmaceutical’s antipsychotic drug pimavanserin is now facing public scrutiny and fiscal uncertainty after a report from CNN in April 2018 detailed the deaths of more than 700 patients prescribed this drug since June 2016. You may be seeing advertisements for pimavanserin (Nuplazid) now in an attempt to reverse its negative publicity.
The exact mechanism of action of pimavanserin is unknown; however, it messes with the level of serotonin in the brain like other antipsychotics do. Special dosing requirements are necessary when other drugs being given along with pimavanserin have strong CYP450 interactions.
Nuplazid carries the black box warning “Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death.” It also has a known adverse reaction of hallucinations with 5% of those taking it, which is exactly what it is supposed to prevent. Since no one knows how it is really supposed to work, it is just a guess based on what is observed during clinical trials, with the hope that its side effects won’t be too drastic, and that enough of it can be sold before the outcry against its adverse side effects becomes loud enough to ban it.
It’s just another harmful psychiatric drug whose purpose is to make money at the expense of vulnerable people, and make more patients for life due to its damaging side effects. Click here for more information about these harmful psychiatric drugs.