Are Foster Kids Overmedicated?

Antipsychotics are the top-selling class of drugs in the United States, with sales of $14.6 billion in 2009 alone. Their use in children and adolescents in the United States is increasingly prevalent — and children in foster care are among the most likely to be medicated.

New antipsychotic drugs lack evidence for effectiveness

The use of drugs to treat conditions like depression, dementia, autism bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other personality disorders has steadily risen, but researchers says second generation antipsychotics cost millions, may not even help patients, and have serious side effects that should be considered, including weight gain, diabetes and heart disease.

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