Infants Exposed to Psychotropic Drugs During Pregnancy At Risk
New research published in the July issue of The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that the use of mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, antidepressants, and hypnotics during pregnancy is associated with increased health risks to the infant.
Study 329: MK, HK, SK and GSK
It is appropriate to hold a company or doctors who may be aiming to make money out of vulnerable people to a high standard when it comes to efficacy, but for those interested to advance the treatment of patients with any medical condition it is not appropriate to deny the likely existence of harms on the basis of a failure to reach a significance threshold that the very process of conducting an RCT will mean cannot be met, as investigators' attention is systematically diverted elsewhere.
Study Links SSRIs to Violent Crime in Youth
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.â
HuffPo Features 15 Part DocuSerial on Risperdal Corruption
Huffington Post and journalist Steve Brill have combined to launch a 15 part series about how Johnson & Johnson illegally violated FDA restrictions by pushing the antipsychotic drug, Risperdal, for use with adolescents and the elderly. The series, entitled âAmericaâs Most Admired Lawbreaker,â launched yesterday and will include mixed media, videos, podcasts, source documents, as well as 15 written chapters. Click more for a synopsis of part 1.
Benzo Drugs, UK Fudge, Cover Up and Consequences
In 1980, the British Medical Journal published a âSystematic Review of the Benzodiazepinesâ by the Committee on the Review of Medicines. The committee denied the addictive potential of Benzodiazepines and limited their suggestions to short term use. The results have been devastating.
New Book: Deadly Psychiatry And Organised Denial
Writing for the UKâs Daily Mail, Peter Gøtzsche introduces his new book âDeadly Psychiatry And Organised Denial.â âMore than 80 million prescriptions for psychiatric drugs are written in the UK every year, Gøtzsche writes. âNot only are these drugs often entirely unnecessary and ineffective, but they can also turn patients into addicts, cause crippling side-effects - and kill.â
Gallup: âAmericans’ Views of Pharmaceutical Industry Take a Tumbleâ
âIn Gallup's annual measure of 25 major U.S. business sectors, the percentage of Americans with a positive view of the pharmaceutical industry dropped from 40% in 2014 to 35% this year, while the percentage with a negative view rose from 36% to 43%.â
Pfizer Drug Chantix Cited in Murder Plea
In exchange for pleading guilty to murder, a young soldier received a 45-year sentence with the possibility of parole. The plea resulted from evidence that Chantix, a smoking cessation drug manufactured by Pfizer, can increase hostility and agitation, according to the SunHerald. âSeveral experts provided some evidence that Chantix affected (the soldierâs) ability to appreciate the nature and quality or wrongfulness of his acts,â the SunHerald noted.
â’Psychiatric Survivor’ Wilda White Says She Is Ready to Leadâ
When Wilda White recovered from a manic episode triggered by her ADHD medication, she had lost her relationship, her home, and her dream job as a public interest lawyer. She reached a turning point when, she told Seven Days newspaper, "in the course of trying to figure out what had happened to me, I went on the website Mad in America.â Through the site, she connected with a job listing from Vermont Psychiatric Survivors, a non-profit dedicated to empowering and protecting the rights of people labeled âmentally ill.â She is now their executive director.
âPolice Killed Someone in Mental Crisis Every 36 Hoursâ
According to an analysis by the Washington Post, âOn average, police shot and killed someone who was in mental crisis every 36 hours in the first six months of this year.â Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum called it âa national crisis.â âWe have to get American police to rethink how they handle encounters with the mentally ill. Training has to change.â
Pennsylvania Foster Kids Prescribed Too Many Psychotropic Drugs
Amid growing criticism about the over-prescription of psychotropic medication in foster care, Pennsylvania commissioned PolicyLab to conduct an analysis of the use of psychiatric drugs among all of the stateâs Medicaid-enrolled children. The report, released in June, found that the rate of psychotropic prescriptions among youth in Medicaid and foster care was higher than previously reported.
Meta-Analysis Ties Gray Matter Loss to Antipsychotic Dose
Antipsychotics are currently the predominant treatment for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, but there is an accumulating body of research that links the use of these drugs to structural abnormalities in the brain. A recent meta-analysis suggests that gray matter loss in the brain may depend on the dose and class of the antipsychotic.
Antipsychotics Prescribed Off-Label for Challenging Behaviors
Antipsychotics are being prescribed to people who may have challenging behaviors but no mental disorder, according to new research published in this monthâs issue of BMJ. âExcessive use of psychotropic drugs has individual and systemic implications,â the researchers write. âAntipsychotics, in particular, are associated with several adverse side effects that can impair quality of life and lead to deleterious health outcomes.â
“More Evidence that Antipsychotics Shrink the Brainâ
New research finds that brain matter loss in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia is correlated with antipsychotic use, according to Psych Central. The analysis suggests that the continued use of antipsychotics is linked with progressive cortical gray matter loss.
âAntipsychotics May Be Pushed On Those with Intellectual Disabilitiesâ
Psych Central covers findings published in BMJ revealing that many people in the U.K. with intellectual disabilities are being prescribed antipsychotic drugs. The studyâs lead author comments: âPeople who show problem behaviors, along with older people with intellectual disability or those with co-existing autism or dementia, are significantly more likely to be given an antipsychotic drug, despite this being against clinical guidelines and risking possible harm.â
âAntipsychotic Use in Youth Without Psychosis: A Double-edged Swordâ
This monthâs issue of JAMA Psychiatry ran an editorial commenting on recent research revealing that the majority of youth prescribed antipsychotics have not been diagnosed with a mental disorder.
Members of FDA Advisory Committee Offer Perspectives on Flibanserin Approval in JAMA
In the September issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) three FDA advisory committee members describe the convergence of factors that made the committeeâs recommendation to approve flibanserin especially challenging and politically charged.
Study 329: The Timelines
In addition to hosting the Panorama programs and The Famous Grouse history of Study 329, Study329.org has a comprehensive timeline on the origins of concerns about the SSRIs and the risk of suicide, initially with Prozac and subsequently with Paxil/Seroxat. The hope is to provide a comprehensive repository for anyone who wants to study SSRIs, RCTs, and Study 329 in particular.
âJanssen Accused of Withholding Data on Risperdal Side Effect in Autismâ
MedPageToday reports that Janssen Pharmaceuticals omitted data from a 2003 study that connected Risperdal with serious side effects. Janssen was previously sued by the FDA for marketing Risperdal for off-label uses and settled for $2.2 billion in 2013. Earlier this year, a man with autism was awarded $2.5 million after growing breasts while on Risperdal. According to MedPage, documents from this latest case reveal missing data tables from a 2003 study âdesigned to ferret out potential adverse effects of long-term risperidone use.â The missing tables were related to elevated prolactin levels and side effects, including gynecomastia in men.
âThe FDA Is Basically Approving Everything. Here’s The Data To Prove Itâ
Writing for Forbes, Matthew Herper documents the FDAâs increasing drug approval rates. âIn 2008, BioMedTracker says the FDA approved 20 new molecular entities (NMEs) and rejected 20, for an approval rate of 50%.â So far this year, he writes, âthe FDA approval rate is more like 96%.â
Harvardâs Madras Critiques University of Pittsburgh Marijuana Study
Bertha Madras, professor of psychobiology at Harvard Medical School, has printed a critique listing 20 flaws to a recent study finding no differences in physical or mental health problems between users and non-users of marijuana.
Australia Restricts Risperidone Following Stroke Link
The Australian reports that their Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) received new data from drug company Janssen-Cilag, the developers of risperidone, âindicating a more than fivefold higher risk of âcerebrovascular adverse eventsâ â stroke or transient ischaemic Âattack â in patients with vascular or mixed dementia on risperidone.â
On Relaxing Off-Label Meds:Â Do the Opposite. Especially for Children. Especially Antipsychotics
The US Food and Drug Administration has announced that there will soon be a public meeting to explore providing drug companies with greater flexibility in promoting off-label indications to doctors. When it comes to prescribing medications to children, and particularly psychiatric medications, this is a bad idea. I write both as a former consultant to the pharmaceutical industry, and as a father who lost a son to the toxic effects of antipsychotics prescribed off-label.
FDA: Antidepressant Trials Have Not Adequately Reported Sexual Dysfunction Side Effects
US Food and Drug Administration scientists want to better evaluate side effects of sexual dysfunction associated with antidepressant drugs.
Slew of New Studies Spot Links Between Psychiatric Medications and Bone Loss, Fractures
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.