Around The Web

Updates on critical psychiatry postings across the Internet.

“Lawsuits Link Abilify with Compulsive Gambling”

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Plaintiffs allege that Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical failed to warn doctors and patients about the risk for compulsive behaviors when taking the atypical...

“Anti-Depressants for Teens: A Second Look”

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Writing for the Harvard Health Blog, Dr. Nandinia Mani reconsiders the use of antidepressants in teens in light of the reanalysis of Study 329. ...

Watch: SNL Advertises “Abilify for Candidates”

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Saturday Night Live presents and advertisement for a drug that can “destroy the damaged part of the brain that says, ‘I’m going to be...

“The Impact of Shift Work on Health”

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Medical News Today provides an overview of the research on the effects of shift work on the physical and mental well-being of employees. "Although...

Latest Issue of “Human Givens” Released

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Human Givens is a biannual journal that “explores the relevance of the very latest knowledge about human psychology and the way we live today.”...

“6 Prescription Drugs That Aren’t as Safe as the Government Claims”

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“A quick look at drugs or drug uses that later turned out to be risky shows a disturbing trail of ‘bought’ science in major medical...

“The Outcome of My Clinical Trial Is a Mystery”

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Writing for the Atlantic, Emma Yasinski confesses that she was enrolled in a clinical trial for an invasive experimental surgery at seven years old but, as the results were never published, she may never know how well it actually worked.

“What Barbara Ehrenreich Gets Wrong about Gratitude”

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Barbara Ehrenreich has been a strident critic of positive psychology. Jason Marsh explores whether she might be missing something when it comes to the research on gratitude.

“More on the Clinical Trial Disaster in France”

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Just last week one person was declared brain dead and five more were hospitalized after taking a psychiatric drug in a clinical trial. Writing for Science, Martin Enserink provides more information about the drug as new details emerge.

Cymbalta Withdrawal Lawsuit Moves Forward

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The warning label for the antidepressant Cymbalta downplayed the risks of withdrawal effects, according to consumer lawsuits being filed in courts across the country. “An estimated 44% to 78% of people who stop taking Cymbalta (also known as duloxetine) will suffer from withdrawal reactions,” yet the warning label “suggests the risk is greater than or equal to 1%.”

“Childhood Poverty Linked to Brain Changes”

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“Children from poorer families are more likely to experience changes in brain connectivity that put them at higher risk of depression, compared with children from more affluent families,” according to new research covered by Medical News Today. "Poverty doesn't put a child on a predetermined trajectory, but it behooves us to remember that adverse experiences early in life are influencing the development and function of the brain. And if we hope to intervene, we need to do it early so that we can help shift children onto the best possible developmental trajectories."

“Woman Wins Epilepsy Drug Warning Fight”

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A UK mother has won a three-year battle to have warning labels put on epilepsy drugs which cause birth defects, heart problems, and learning disabilities.

Brain Prepares Multiple Actions Before Decision

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According to new research summarized by ScienceDaily, there is evidence that the brain prepares for multiple possible actions before a decision is made.

“Income Inequality Is a Health Hazard – Even for the Rich”

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“Wealth in the United States can buy many things: education, homes, vacations. It can even buy the best doctors and diet, but it can't buy health.” Why not? Asks Yessenia Funes. Researchers find that inequality in society leads to shorter lives for everyone.

“When the Brain is Under Attack”

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The Boston Globe reports on the discovery of a newly recognized neurological disease, anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. The disease is believed to be caused when the body’s immune system attacks proteins in the brain associated with the communication of neurons.

“Social Factors Influence Schizophrenia?”

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PsychCentral covers new research linking social deprivation, population density and inequality with higher rates of psychotic symptoms and diagnoses for schizophrenia. “This is important because other research has shown that many health and social outcomes also tend to be optimal when societies are more equal.”

“The Guardian’s Bad Hair Day”

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“No, cortisol in hair can’t ‘reveal future mental health risk’ in children.” HealthNewsReview gives a low rating to a recent story in the Guardian that reported that cortisol levels in children’s hair might be a useful mental health screening tool.

“Drug Overdoses Propel Rise in Mortality Rates of Young Whites”

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“The rising death rates for those young white adults, ages 25 to 34, make them the first generation since the Vietnam War years of the mid-1960s to experience higher death rates in early adulthood than the generation that preceded it,” the ‘Times reports.

“6 Hospitalized, One of Them Brain-Dead, After Drug Trial in France”

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Six men were hospitalized and one was pronounced brain dead after participating in a phase 1 clinical drug for a mood, anxiety, and motor dysfunction drug manufactured by Bial and administered by Biotrial. Carl Elliott, a bioethicist at the University of Minnesota, said investigators should look into questions like how much the men were paid and whether they properly consented to the trial. “Many Phase 1 trial volunteers are poor and unemployed, and they volunteer for trials like this because they are desperate for money,” he said. “This means they are easily exploited.”

“Federal Judge Declines to Toss Paxil Suicide Case, Setting GSK up for September Trial”

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Wendy Dolin sued GSK after her husband committed suicide after taking a generic version of Paxil. The US District Court has declined GSK’s motions...

Mindfulness of Body Linked to Heightened Resilience

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“To handle stress and adversity more effectively, we should probably pay closer attention to what is happening inside our bodies,” Gretchen Reynolds writes in the New York Times Well blog. “To me, this study says that resilience is largely about body awareness and not rational thinking,” said Dr. Martin Paulus, the scientific director of the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa, Okla., and the senior author of the study.

“West Virginia Allows Painkiller Addicts to Sue Prescribing Doctors”

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“CBS News went to West Virginia, a state that is attempting a drastic solution: allowing addicts to sue the doctors who got them hooked.”

“Cortisol Levels in Children’s Hair May Reveal Future Mental Health Risk”

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The Guardian covers research out of Australia that found that levels of the “stress hormone” cortisol in the hair of 70 nine-year-old children corresponded to the number of traumatic events experienced by the child. “Childhood is an imperative and sensitive period of development, and when things go wrong it can have lifelong consequences, not just on mental health, but also on general health.”

“David Bowie, Psychosis and Positive Nonconformity”

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For MinnPost, Susan Perry discusses the late singer-songwriter and actor David Bowie and his experiences with psychosis. She highlights the work of psychologist Vaughan Bell, who details how Bowie’s family history of psychosis is reflected in his work, and Stephanie Pappas, explaining “why Bowie’s positive expression of nonconformity has helped so many people who feel like misfits.”

“Does Animal-Assisted Therapy Help Adolescents With Psychiatric Problems?”

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The Pacific Standard covers a study out of Florence, finding that adolescents in mental health crisis who received animal-assisted therapy had better school attendance, higher global functioning, and spent less time in the hospital.