Warning over 'low prescribing' for elderly

[Northerner]

More elderly patients should be prescribed drugs to tackle high blood pressure and cholesterol, experts say.

Oxford and Birmingham university researchers said older patients were "largely ignored" after looking at prescribing for nearly 37,000 people.

They found for blood pressure-lowering drugs prescribing dropped after the age of 85, while for treatment for high cholesterol the fall started at 75.

But other experts said there could be valid reasons for the findings.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18817307

 

[trophywench]

Meanwhile at another University nearby, researchers are looking into the shocking OVER prescribing of persons in nursing-homes identified as being in the last year of their time on this mortal coil. Especially bearing in mind some of the drugs have side effects, so another drug is prescribed to counteract that, and another one for the side effects of that one etc - when what you should probably do it remove the first one, as there's not a lot of point (perhaps) in viciously controlling eg someone's cholesterol if they are actually in course of dying of eg bowel cancer ......

There are of course, two sides to every story!