âTreating Parkinson’s Psychosis With Antipsychotics May Boost Death Riskâ
The Psychiatric Advisor reports on new research from Kingâs College London that suggests that antipsychotics can cause serious harm to people with Parkinsonâs.
âAlternative Therapies Should Be Considered Before Antipsychotics for Childrenâ
The official voice of the American Psychiatric Association covers the short and long term side-effects of antipsychotics and promotes the use of therapeutic alternatives...
âADHD Drugs Could Harm Kids’ Sleepâ
Children diagnosed with ADHD who are prescribed stimulant drugs have more sleep problems than those with ADHD that do not take these drugs.
FDA: New Depression Drug âNot Approvableâ
Gepirone, a new depression drug by Fabre-Kramer Pharmaceuticals, did not meet the FDAs efficacy standards. The new drug application for gepirone has now received...
âWhy We Shouldnât Trade a Weakened FDA for More Medical Research Fundsâ
Ed Silverman at STAT reports that Congress has linked increased research funding to âfast-trackâ approval procedures. âBy linking the extra funds to speedier approvals,...
âMore on the Clinical Trial Disaster in Franceâ
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.
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
Treatment Guidelines Downplay Antidepressant Dependence
A review of treatment guidelines published in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics found that guidelines âshy away from stating clearly that SSRIs/SNRIs, like BDZs, are often (though...
âDrug Trials Not Reported in Line with Ethical and Legal Demandsâ
âDecisions about the effectiveness of drugs are being made with incomplete information because results of almost three-quarters of clinical trials are still not published...
âPsychotic Symptoms in Children on Stimulants. What are the Implications for the Clinician?â
âA little background digging revealed to me that this study is the tip of a new iceberg relative to ADHD diagnosis, stimulant treatment, and...
âPublic Wary of Faster Approvals of New Drugs, STAT-Harvard Poll Findsâ
According to a new STAT-Harvard poll, the majority of Americans oppose new legislation that would speed up the approval of new drugs and medical...
âPediatricians Vary Widely in Diagnosing ADHD, Depressionâ
Researchers found that pediatricians vary greatly in how often they diagnose and prescribe drugs for ADHD and other mental health conditions. âThe proportion of...
âProtect California Foster Youth from Dangerous Psychiatric Drugsâ
The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports on legislation being passed in California to go after physicians who overprescribe psychiatric drugs to foster youth. The proposed legislation also targets government agencies that fail to offer nondrug alternative therapies to help foster youth recover from traumatic childhoods.
âWoman Can Sue Study Sponsor for Suicide Tryâ
A woman in Texas attempted suicide while in the active group of a clinical trial for smoking-cassation drugs Chantix and Zyban, both known to...
Ireland to Decriminalise Heroin, Cocaine and Cannabis
The UK Independent reports that Ireland is moving toward a policy of decriminalizing small amount of drugs like heroin, cocaine, and cannabis in what amounts to a âradical cultural shift.â While it would remain a crime to profit from the sale of these substances, users will have specially designated areas for safe use. The chief of Irelandâs National Drugs Strategy told the paper: âI am firmly of the view that there needs to be a cultural shift in how we regard substance misuse if we are to break this cycle and make a serious attempt to tackle drug and alcohol addiction.â
âMore Patients in Scotland Given Antidepressantsâ
The BBC reports that the number of people in Scotland taking antidepressants has increased by 5% in the past year with most of the patients being women and those in the poorest parts of the country. âWe are now looking at the flabbergasting statistic of more than one in seven people in Scotland being prescribed antidepressants this year,â Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said. âWe urgently have to look at better alternatives than simply parking people on medication in the hope things don't get any worse, with no aspiration for complete recovery."
âAs Opioid Deaths Reach Record High, Drug Industry Resists Efforts to Rein in Prescriptionsâ
âIn 2014, the number of people who died from drug overdoses in the United States reached 47,055 â an all-time high, according to a disturbing report published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),â but âthe effort to get physicians to curb their prescribing of these drugs may be faltering amid stiff resistance from drugmakers, industry-funded groups and, now, even other public health officials.â
âFeds Probe Drugmaker-Charity Connectionsâ
Last week, reports circulated about a system through which drug companies used charitable giving for profit. Now, three drug manufacturers, Gilead Sciences Inc., Biogen...
âNew Pill for Boosting Female Libidos Off to a Slow Startâ
Ed Silverman reports that only 80 prescriptions for Addyi, or Flibanserin, were filled in the drugsâ first two weeks on the market.
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Summary of Recent Antidepressant Meta-Analyses
On his own website, clinical psychologist Kenneth Pope has summarized 60 meta-analyses of antidepressants published between 2013-2015. The studies contain information on antidepressants âuses,...