Old Dogs Do Have Trouble Learning New Tricks — Can They Teach Us About...
-University of Kentucky's Elizabeth Head discusses her research into learning in elderly beagles who, unlike mice and rats, can seemingly develop dementia like humans.
Policies to Reduce Antipsychotic use Among Elderly are Failing
Research reveals that rates of antipsychotic prescribing to the elderly in the UK have not dropped despite national recommendations.
SSRIs Significantly Increase Falls in Dementia, Even at Low Doses
Researchers in the Netherlands followed 248 nursing home residents with dementia for two years, finding that even 25% of the defined daily dose of...
Some Nursing Homes Trying To Move Beyond Antipsychotics
-Some nursing homes are changing their approaches since the US federal government began more closely regulating the use of antipsychotic medications in elderly patients with dementia.
Pain Meds Reduce Dementia Symptoms
British researchers find that a 10% increase in pain medication resulted in a dramatic reduction in the use of antipsychotic and other medications. “When...
England Seeks to Stop Antipsychotics For Dementia
English health minister Paul Burstow is seeking to outlaw the 'silent scandal' of inappropriate antipsychotics for dementia by proposing legislation that imposes up to...
Patient Race Associated with Varied Psychiatric Treatment Experiences
Findings point to association between race and the mental health care experiences of African-American and White veterans.
$1 Billion J&J Settlement Rejected as Insufficient
Federal prosecutors have rejected as insufficient the $1 billion settlement reached two months ago between Johnson & Johnson and prosecutors in Philadelphia to resolve...
Deadly Drugs Misused in U.S. Nursing Facilities
From AARP: The family of Bobby Glenn Tweed recently settled a lawsuit with a nursing home over his wrongful death. Tweed was prescribed psychotropic drugs without...
Popular Drug Reveals the Issue of “Off-Label” Use
From The Washington Post: Despite major lawsuits and detailed reports pertaining to severe health risks associated with the antipsychotic Seroquel, the drug remains one of...
Not an Onion Study: Underpowered Analysis Of Poor Quality Data Finds Antipsychotics Actually Aren’t...
University of Groningen researchers analyzed only small, short-term clinical trials of generally poor quality to determine that antipsychotics are not linked to increased risk of death in elderly people with dementia.
Assessing the Cost of Psychiatric Drugs to the Elderly and Disabled Citizens of the...
ProPublica is well known for creating interesting data bases that allow anyone hooked up to a computer to see by name whether a physician is accepting Big Pharma payments — from dinners to speaking engagements to consulting services. What may be lesser known is that occasionally ProPublica will publish other data that when carefully mined can reveal even more about the use of psychiatric drugs especially when there is a public funding source available.
The Monster in Our House: What Psychiatric Medication Did to My Father
When we eliminated his last psychotropic prescription, it was as if my father came back from the dead. All of the monster-like qualities that we thought were severe symptoms of his dementia have practically disappeared. We’ve found ourselves questioning whether he has dementia at all.
Antidepressant Use Linked to Dementia
A new study finds that elderly individuals using antidepressants are at significantly higher risk for dementia compared to depressed individuals who did not take the drugs.
New Medications Fail to Show Efficacy for Alzheimer’s Disease
Three phase III clinical trials assessing the efficacy of Lundbeck’s investigational drug idalopirdine for Alzheimer’s disease have failed
Stigma
In this episode of BBC's Thinking Allowed, Laurie Taylor invites three researchers to speak about the origins and meaning of the term "stigma," as well as...
“Does Air Pollution Cause Dementia?”
-Mother Jones examines the growing body of research implicating air pollution in dementia.
Training Nursing Home Staff in Understanding Needs Can Reduce Antipsychotic Use
A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the largest study of its kind, has shown it is possible to reduce the use of antipsychotics in nursing homes, by engaging their staff in a training program designed to target residents’ strengths and their unmet needs.
Care Homes Over-Prescribing Drugs for Residents with Dementia
From The Guardian: According to a new Human Rights Watch report, U.S. nursing homes are inappropriately prescribing antipsychotics to an estimated 179,000 residents with dementia each...
Sunday FM: Music Therapy Comes to Life in Documentary
A new documentary coming to theatres around the US over the next few months explores Dan Cohen's Music and Memory program and its emotional...
Arkansas’ $1.25 Billion Risperdal Trial Starts Today
Arkansas' lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson for false and misleading claims regarding Risperdal is set to begin today, the fourth time J&J has a...
PTSD and Psychiatric Medication Linked to Dementia in Older Veterans
Veterans diagnosed with PTSD and taking SSRIs, novel antidepressants, or atypical antipsychotics are more likely to develop dementia.
Lower Education Linked to Higher Antipsychotic Use in Swedish Elderly
Elderly people in Sweden are five times more likely to be taking antipsychotics if they have a diagnosis of dementia, according to research published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. And among those people with dementia, the lower their education the higher the likelihood they’re taking antipsychotics.
“‘They’re Waking Up’: Reducing Drugs for Dementia Patients Yields Dramatic Results”
Canada's Global News reports that "A couple of years after a national initiative began to reduce the use of anti-psychotic medication, some people are...
Lifestyle Changes, Not a Magic Pill, Can Reverse Alzheimer’s
From Aeon: A recent study at UCLA found that lifestyle changes including diet modifications, exercise, stress management, and increased sleep can significantly improve the memory and...
