For-Profit Medicine Incentivizes Overmedicating Our Elderly
From NBC: According to human rights investigators, anti-psychotic drugs are often administered to nursing home residents to address behavioral issues. Our nation's lack of funding...
Biogen Pushes FDA to Approve Failed Alzheimer’s Drug
A new analysis, published in Lancet Neurology, demonstrates how Biogen is spinning results from two failed trials for a new Alzheimer's drug.
Lack of Face-to-Face Contact Doubles Depression Risk for Older Adults
New research suggests that more frequent in-person contact lessens the risk of depression in older adults. The study, published in this month’s issue of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, found that in Americans over fifty the more face-to-face contact they had with children, family and friends, the less likely they were to develop depressive symptoms.
Do Benzos Deserve a Major Role in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders?
Researchers at the University of Milan and King's College, London thoroughly reviewed the literature available on Medline and Cochrane regarding the use of benzodiazepines...
Nonclinical Factors are Associated with Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use in Older Adults
White race and size of initial prescription, along with poor sleep quality, are associated with long-term benzodiazepine use in older adults.
Pharma-linked Panel Advises Wider Use of Statins Even as Drugs’ Links to Dementia Re-affirmed
People who take statins are at “significantly greater” risk of memory impairment than those who don’t take the popular cholesterol-lowering drugs, according to research...
Can Cultural Engagement Protect Against Depression?
A new study examines the preventative effects of cultural engagement has on depression among older adults.
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.
Veterans with both PTSD and Dementia More Likely to be Prescribed Antipsychotics
Researchers found that veterans with both conditions had higher odds of being prescribed second-generation antipsychotics than those presenting with just PTSD.
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...
“Coming Out of the Fog”
"For the past eight years, Vicki Dyer has been the program director of the dementia ward at Lakewood, a continuing care centre in Waterville, Me.,...
Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Keep Pushing To Reduce Antipsychotic Use In Elderly
-"The push for long-term care facilities to abandon the use of off-label use of antipsychotic medications for residents with dementia will intensify over the next two years."
The Hidden Costs of Paying Physicians More to Diagnose Dementia
A plan from the British government to pay doctors for every diagnosis of dementia that they make is an act of "folly," writes physician...
Drug May Lead to Early Death for People With Alzheimer’s
From The Washington Post: A recent study found that benzodiazepines are associated with a greater chance of early death for those with Alzheimer's.
"Researchers analyzed data on...
Turns out Action Video Games Really can Harm Your Brain
From Global News: According to a recent Montreal study, habitually playing action video games can lead to grey matter loss in the hippocampus, which is...
First Aid for Emotional Trauma
Handout by Will Hall, offered on the Icarus Project website, on what emotional trauma is and how to work to heal it.
Go to "First...
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...
How Loneliness Affects Our Health
From The New York Times: The potentially harmful impact of loneliness and isolation on our health and well-being have been well documented over the past...
Music Therapy Interventions Reduce Depression Symptoms in Dementia
Therapists can use music to meet the emotional and social needs of individuals with dementia.
Antipsychotics Even Riskier For The Elderly Than Previously Thought
Antipsychotic medications that are commonly being used to help control behaviors in elderly people with dementia seem to be causing premature deaths at high rates.
Medical Conditions in the Elderly Often Misdiagnosed as Psychiatric
27 (24%) of 112 geriatric patients admitted consecutively to an inpatient psychiatric unit had delirium from underlying medical conditions that was misdiagnosed as a psychiatric...
Research Is Shedding New Light on Hearing Voices
From Psychology Today: Although auditory hallucinations are commonly thought of as a sign of mental illness, research shows that hearing voices is common among the general population...
Increased Risk of Movement Disorders From Antipsychotics in Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
Large cohort study demonstrates that those with an intellectual disability are at an increased risk for movement disorder side effects of antipsychotics.
Evidence Strengthening that Common Benzodiazepine Sedatives May Cause Dementia
A meta-analysis of studies found that the risk of dementia increased 22% for every additional twenty daily doses of benzodiazepine medications annually.
Federal Regulators Urge Cuts in Antipsychotics for Seniors
An Office of the Inspector General report says that nearly nine out of 10 prescriptions for antipsychotics given to Medicare beneficiaries are for unapproved uses....
