The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is ordering manufacturers of antipsychotic drugs to include boxed warnings on the products after the agency found that the medications can increase the risk of death in some elderly patients.

These medications reduce the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia and usually allow the patient to function more effectively and appropriately. However, doctors frequently prescribe them to treat elderly patients with dementia

AstraZeneca PLC announced Monday that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new form of its popular Seroquel schizophrenia treatment, making it the first medicine to treat both the manic and depressive sides of bipolar disorder.

Seroquel, launched in 1997, is one of AstraZeneca's top-selling drugs, with total sales of $2.8 billion last year. The drug is already used to treat acute manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but the FDA approval adds the treatment of patients with depressive episodes

Some drugs used to treat patients with Alzheimer's disease do little to calm some of the malady's more dramatic symptoms, and may even pose a risk of serious side effects, according to a study due out, today.

The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, finds that some popular medications prescribed to ease agitation and aggression were no more effective than placebos for most Alzheimer's patients. The study goes on to say that the drugs may actually lead to confusion, sleepiness and Parkinson's disease-like symptoms in some patients

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Johnson & Johnson's drug Risperdal as the first medicine to treat autism symptoms.

Risperdal was already one of Johnson & Johnson's top-selling drugs before this new use was approved. The medicine can now be used for patients with autism to treat irritability including aggression, FDA officials said

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Risperdal (risperidone) tablets for the symptomatic treatment of irritability in autistic children and adolescents.

The approval of the adult antipsychotic drug is the first use of a drug to treat behaviors associated with autism in children.

The FDA said these behaviors are included under the general heading of irritability, and include aggression, deliberate self-injury, and temper tantrums