Andrew Alt's Reviews > The Zyprexa Papers

“Mr. Berenson also reported on a California doctor who stated eight of his thirty-five patients on Zyprexa had developed high blood sugar, two of whom had to be hospitalized. The Zyprexa Papers showed Lilly encouraged its sales representatives to play down these effects when talking to doctors. To reassure doctors, Lilly also publicly said that when it followed up with patients who had taken Zyprexa in a clinical trial for three years, it found that weight gain appeared to plateau after about nine months. But the company did not disclose its early 1999 finding, revealed by the Zyprexa Papers, that blood sugar levels in the patients had increased steadily for those three years.”
― Jim Gottstein, The Zyprexa Papers

“Berenson wrote that Lilly told its sales representatives to suggest doctors prescribe Zyprexa to older patients with symptoms of dementia, even though this was an unapproved use. I have learned that staff at nursing homes like prescribing Zyprexa and other neuroleptics to their patients because it disables them so much they aren't any trouble; in many cases, they can't even get out of bed anymore. Worse, Zyprexa doubles the death rate for the elderly. As Mr. Berenson reported, Zyprexa carries a prominent ("black box") warning that it increases the risk of death in the elderly. People tell me that when their parents die after being given a neuroleptic such as Zyprexa, the doctor says something along the lines of, "Well, your mother was old." I have also heard stories from people who tell me their parent dramatically improved once they were taken off Zyprexa or other neuroleptics.”
― Jim Gottstein, The Zyprexa Papers