QuarterWatch Reports: Perspectives on Emerging Drug Risks

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A new issue ofĀ QuarterWatchĀ critiques the recent Ciprani meta-analysis on antidepressants and reports on the adverse effects of the newest antidepressant, vortioxetine. ReportĀ ā†’

Study Finds Recalling Experiences of Violence Impairs Cognitive Functioning

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Recalling past exposure to violence worsens short-term memory and cognitive control.

What Do Psychiatrists Say When They Talk to Each Other?

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Last week I attended a lecture presented at the Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds at a major Southeastern University.Ā  The presenter, a psychiatrist employed...

Testifying in Vermont: Forced Drugs

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Vermont Governor Shumlin recently suggested a change to state law that would accelerate the process under which a person could be forced to take antipsychotic drugs against her will. The House Human Services Committee reviewed this proposal and I was asked to testify. What follows are my comments.

Mindfulness Therapy May Be More Effective Without Antidepressants

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While an estimated 74-percent of patients diagnosed with major depression receive a prescription for an antidepressant, new research reveals that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)...

Study Identifies Link Between Antidepressants and Newborn Hypertension

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A new study, published in the American Journal of Physiology, investigates how the use of antidepressants during pregnancy can lead to a life-threatening lung...

Study Examines Experience of Long-Term Antidepressant Use

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The use of antidepressants has increased substantially in recent years, yet relatively few studies have asked patients about their experiences with these drugs. A...

GSK to Face Class Action over Antidepressants for Children

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A Sydney, Australia law firm has launched a class action on behalf of people who as children and adolescents were prescribed Glaxosmithkline'sĀ drug Paroxetine. Despite...

Prenatal Antidepressant Exposure Raises Risk to Newborn of Pulmonary Hypertension

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Researchers from Canada find the risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn is increased for infants exposed to SSRIs in late pregnancy. Results...

Medical Interventions Are Overused Worldwide

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Lack of ā€œright careā€ causes physical, psychological and financial harm to patients

Michelle Carter Found Guilty in Landmark Texting Suicide Case

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FromĀ The Boston Herald: Michelle Carter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for repeatedly encouraging her high school boyfriend to kill himself via text...

ļ»æJune 17, 2011

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Bob-- Here is a letter that I wrote several months ago in response to an early reader of my blog here. She expressed concern about...

Are Pharmaceutical Companies to Blame for the Opioid Epidemic?

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FromĀ The Atlantic: As opioid abuse rises, some attorneys general and advocates are filing lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies for misleading doctors and the public about...

SSRI Exposure in Pregnancy Alters Fetal Neurodevelopment

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Alterations in gray matter and white matter development found in infants of mothers taking SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy.

Study Links SSRIs to Violent Crime in Youth

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Individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 are more likely to commit a violent crime if they are taking an SSRI antidepressant than if they are not, according to new research out of Sweden. The study published in PLoS Medicine on Tuesday, suggests "warnings about the increased risk of violent behavior among young people taking SSRIs might be needed.ā€

Slew of New Studies Spot Links Between Psychiatric Medications and Bone Loss, Fractures

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Four different studies conducted in different ways examining different groups have linked use of certain psychiatric drugs to bone fracture risks and negative impacts on human bone development.

ā€œThe Hidden Harms of Antidepressantsā€

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In a new article for Scientific American, Diana Kwon reports on how the true risks for suicide and aggression in children and teens taking...

SSRIs Can Harm Babies Prior to Conception

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In addition to the increased risk of respiratory and heart troubles known to accompany SSRI use during pregnancy, SSRIs have been linked to an...

Antidepressants Actually Reduce Serotonin Levels

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Common scientific beliefs about serotonin levels in depression and how antidepressants act on the brain appear to be completely backwards.

Jury Awards $4M for Topamax Birth Defect

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After an hour of deliberation, jurors decided that the anticonvulsant Topamax (topiramate) had, in fact, caused April Czimmer's son to be born with a...

Our Health Care System Still Massively Overtreats Patients

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From theĀ Center for Health Journalism: It is a commonly held belief that more medical care is always better; however, overtreatment can be harmful to...

Patients With Schizophrenia Show Better Work Functioning Off Antipsychotics

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20-year follow-up study finds that after four years, patients not prescribed antipsychotics have significantly better work functioning.

Rigorous Study Finds Antidepressants Worsen Long-Term Outcomes

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A new study conducted by Jeffrey Vittengl at Truman University has found that taking antidepressant medications resulted in more severe depression symptoms after nine years.

Could ‘Treatment Resistance’ be an Effect of Antidepressants?

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Previously taking antidepressants could make individuals less likely to respond to treatment for bipolar II depression.

Citizens Petition Calls for Sexual Side Effect Warnings

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Researchers take action after study exposes enduring sexual dysfunction as a potential side effect of serotonin reuptake inhibiting antidepressants, 5Ī±-reductase inhibitors, and isotretinoin.