WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it is ordering manufacturers of "conventional" antipsychotic drugs to include boxed warnings on the products.

The FDA said it will require pharmaceutical companies to make safety-related changes to prescribing information and labeling to warn about an increased risk of death associated with the off-label use of the drugs when used to treat behavioral problems in older people with dementia.

In 2005, the FDA announced similar labeling changes for "atypical" or newer antipsychotic drugs. The warning will now cover older types of "conventional" antipsychotics.

The warning for both classes of drugs will say clinical studies indicate antipsychotic drugs of both types are associated with an increased risk of death when used in elderly patients being treated for dementia-related psychosis.

The drugs are FDA-approved primarily for the treatment of symptoms associated with schizophrenia. The decision to use antipsychotic medications in the treatment of patients with symptoms of dementia is left to the discretion of the physician. Such use is called "off-label" use and falls within the practice of medicine.

The new action includes such drugs as Compazine, Haldol, Loxitane, Mellaril, Moban, Prolixin, Thorazine and Trilafon.

Engineer invents a 'flying saucer'

GAINESVILLE, Fla., June 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. aerospace engineer has designed a plasma-propelled flying machine that looks much like the "flying saucers" depicted in numerous movies.

University of Florida mechanical and aerospace engineering Associate Professor Subrata Roy has submitted a patent application for his circular, spinning aircraft he calls a "wingless electromagnetic air vehicle," or WEAV. The prototype measures less than 6 inches in diameter and will be powered by on-board batteries but Roy said the design theoretically should work in a much larger form.

"This is a very novel concept and, if it's successful, it will be revolutionary," Roy said.

The vehicle will be powered by magnetohydrodynamics, or the force created when a current or a magnetic field is passed through a conducting fluid. In the case of Roy's aircraft, the conducting fluid will be created by electrodes covering the vehicle's surfaces that will ionize the surrounding air into plasma that, in turn, creates lift and momentum.

The U.S. Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have expressed interest in the aircraft and the university is seeking to license the design, he said.

New drug regimen may help reverse MS

BALTIMORE, Mass., June 16 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've found a short-term, high dose of the immune-suppressing drug cyclophosphamide can slow the progression of multiple sclerosis.

Johns Hopkins researchers said their study involving nine people, most of whom had failed all other treatments, suggests new ways to treat the disease that tends to progress relentlessly.

"We didn't expect such a dramatic return of function," said Dr. Douglas Kerr, an associate professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "Although we're very early in the game, we think this approach could be the linchpin of a significant advance for MS treatment."

Cyclophosphamide kills immune-system cells but spares the bone marrow stem cells that make them, the scientists said. The usual method of delivering it in pulsed, small doses, however, can cause the drug to build up to toxic concentrations in patients' bodies.

Seeking an alternative way to use the drug, Kerr and his colleagues reasoned the so-called HiCy treatment might clear the majority of a patient's immune system in one fell swoop, then giving nerve cells an opportunity to repair themselves.

The details of the research are reported in the journal Archives of Neurology.

Pluto officially becomes a plutoid

PARIS, June 16 (UPI) -- The International Astronomical Union said it has selected the term plutoid as a name for dwarf planets such as Pluto.

The action came nearly two years after the IAU introduced the category of dwarf planets, demoting Pluto from being categorized as a planet.

The IAU, with headquarters in Paris, defines plutoids as being celestial bodies in orbit around the sun at a distance greater than that of Neptune that have sufficient mass for their self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that they assume a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly-spherical) shape, and that have not cleared the neighborhood around their orbit.

The two known and named plutoids are Pluto and Eris. It is expected that more plutoids will be named as new discoveries are made.

The IAU has been responsible for naming planetary bodies and their satellites since the early 1900s.