The ADHD Drug Epidemic: Addiction, Abuse, and Death
A new analysis of FDA data, published on September 10th by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/MedPage Today, reveals the dangers of the common prescription of...
âCanadian Patients Fight Forced Electroshockâ
"A retired nurse, a Harvard-educated musician and others sued British Columbia this week, claiming it forcibly subjects mental health patients to electroconvulsive therapy and...
âFDA Panel Votes to Remove Serious Warning from Pfizerâs Smoking Cessation Pillâ
This week an FDA advisory panel decided to remove warnings of serious psychiatric side effects from the Chantix product label. âIn making its recommendation,...
âFDA questions Pfizer Study of Chantix Psychiatric Effectsâ
Pfizer is petitioning the FDA to remove the black box warning for Chantix which focuses on neuropsychiatric side-effects like suicidality and depression. The regulators...
Epilepsy Drugs Can Induce Psychosis in Some Patients, Study Finds
In this monthâs issue of the journal Brain a new study investigates whether the drugs prescribed to control seizures can increase the risk of...
Study Finds ADHD Drugs Alter Developing Brain
A new study, published in the JAMA Psychiatry, investigates the effect of stimulant âADHDâ drugs on the brains of children and young adults. The...
Lancet Study Questions Safety of Locked Psychiatric Wards
A new study published in Lancet Psychiatry challenges the common practice of locking psychiatric wards to prevent patients from attempting suicide or leaving against...
âStudy Finds Mental Health Patients No Better Off Behind Locked Doorsâ
The Lancet Psychiatry published a study last week finding no benefit to locking up patients in mental health hospitals. Data on 145,000 patients found...
Study Examines Experience of Long-Term Antidepressant Use
The use of antidepressants has increased substantially in recent years, yet relatively few studies have asked patients about their experiences with these drugs. A...
Researchers Discover How Antipsychotics Lead To Parkinsonism
A new study published this month in the journal Neuron identifies the mechanism by which antipsychotic drugs can induce parkinsonism, a condition involving movement...
âWar, on Drugsâ
Historian Peter Frankopan delves into the use of drugs to fuel combat âfrom berserkers to jihadis.â âOf the US pilots who took part in...
âAre Anxiety Drugs Making Us Less Eager To Lend A Helping Hand?â
For the Huffington Post, David Freeman asks âBy tamping down anxious feelings, could it be that these so-called âanxiolyticâ drugs are blunting our empathy and...
âAntipsychotic Medication for Children Could Have Lasting Effects, Research Suggestsâ
Neuroscientists have just released the results of a study on the long-term use of antipsychotic drugs in children. The growing brain adapts to the...
Mindfulness Therapy May Be More Effective Without Antidepressants
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)...
âThe Hefty Price of âStudy Drugsâ Misuse on College Campusesâ
For the Conversation, Binghamton University researcher Lina Begdache tackles the issue of the growing use of 'Study Drugs' in the student population. âAnimal studies show...
âThe Hidden Harms of Antidepressantsâ
In a new article for Scientific American, Diana Kwon reports on how the true risks for suicide and aggression in children and teens taking...
âPsych Drug Link to Violent Episodes Analysedâ
The Irish Examiner reports on research by Yolande Lucire connecting antidepressant-induced akathisia to violent episodes. The research concludes that the âmedicalisation of common human...
Interview: Researchers Deconstruct Ghostwritten Industry Trial for Antidepressant
Researchers, Jon Jureidini, Jay Amsterdam and Leemon McHenry, have taken a closer look at the data from a randomized control trial of citalopram (Celexa) that was ghostwritten and then used by the manufacturers to support claims of the drugâs efficacy and safety in the treatment of child and adolescent depression. To get the background on this story, we connected with Dr. Leemon McHenry, an investigator in this study and a lecturer in philosophy at California State University, Northridge.
Antidepressants Do Not Prevent Suicides, May Increase Risk
When the CDC released data revealing an increasing suicide rate in the US, some experts, speaking to major media outlets, speculated that the increase...
The FDA Is Hiding Reports Linking Psych Drugs to Homicides
In my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined being drawn into a story of intrigue involving my own governmentâs efforts to hide, from the public, reports of psychiatric drugs associated with cases of murder, including homicides committed by youth on the drugs. But that is precisely the intrigue I now find myself enmeshed in.
FDA Warns About New Impulse-Control Problems Associated With Abilify
Yesterday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a warning that the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole or Abilify is associated with compulsive and uncontrollable...
Intensive Care Patients at High Risk for PTSD, Psychiatric Symptoms
People who survive life-threatening illnesses in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital are at high risk for depression and anxiety and nearly...
My Response to the FDA’s ECT Rule Change
I lived through forced ECT from 2005-2006 at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. My experience with ECT was the impetus for me to become involved in the antipsychiatry and Mad Pride movements, although I am not entirely opposed to voluntary mental health treatment. The following is the comment I submitted to the FDA on its proposal to down-classify the ECT shock device.
âIt Might Not Be DementiaâHow Pharma for Seniors Can Go Seriously Wrongâ
For Alternet, Martha Rosenberg discusses the dangers of overmedicating seniors and older adults. She interviews Dr. Harry Haroutunian about his new book, âNot As...
Anticholinergic Drugs, Including Antidepressants, Linked To Later Cognitive Problems
A new study, published in JAMA Neurology, found that older people who regularly took anticholinergic drugs, including certain cold medicines or antidepressants, had poorer...
