Elderly people being 'poisoned' by medication, say drug experts

Too little is known about how drugs affect older people, House of Lords committee told

Elderly patients are being "poisoned" with medication because too little is known about how different drugs interact with each other and correct dosages for older people, experts have said.

Speaking at the House of Lords' science and technology committee hearing on healthier living in old age, Sir Munir Pirmohamed, the professor of molecular and clinical pharmacology at Liverpool University, said most of his patients are on more than 10 and often more than 20 drugs.