Long-acting Injection No Better than Oral Antipsychotic
A study of 5-year outcomes for people taking either an ordinary oral antipsychotic or a long-acting injection of an antipsychotic found no differences between the two.
Medical Interventions Are Overused Worldwide
Lack of âright careâ causes physical, psychological and financial harm to patients
Restricting Pharma Reps Contact with Docs Decreases Prescriptions
Implementing policies that regulate pharmaceutical sales representativesâ interaction with physicians may reduce prescription of promoted drugs.
Youngest Children in Class More Likely to get âADHDâ Drugs
The researchers suggest that developmental immaturity is mislabelled as a mental disorder and unnecessarily treated with stimulant medication
âPoliticians and Experts Meet at Parliament to Explore Record Antidepressant Prescribing and Disabilityâ
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence is meeting today, May 11th, to discuss evidence of the link between the rise in disability...
Increase in ED Visits Due to Drug Related Adverse Events
A recently published article in the Journal of the American Medical Association highlights an increase in emergency department (ED) visits due to drug-related adverse or negative events.
Antidepressants Do Work Well — We’ve Simply Been Evaluating Them Incorrectly
Not an Onion Study: SSRI antidepressants did consistently outperform placebo in clinical trials, researchers discovered, so long as 16 of the 17 questions about patients' feelings are ignored.
âStem Cells to Treat Depression?â
A phase 1 study for a stem cell derived agent that promotes the growth of new nerve cells in the brain demonstrated efficacy in a very small sample of patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). The phase 1B study was published online December 8 in Molecular Psychiatry.
âSelling Side Effects: Big Pharmaâs Marketing Machine?â
Drug Watch releases an in-depth investigation into the marketing practices of pharmaceutical companies in the United States. âCompanies spend billions advertising to doctors to...
Transcranial Electrical Stimulation Canât Directly Alter Brain Patterns, Researchers Find
Due to the thickness of the scalp and skull, transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) is incapable of targeting networks of neurons in the brain.
âB.C. Care Homes Provide Antidepressants Without Diagnosesâ
New data reveals that the majority of care homes in British Columbia, Canada are giving out prescriptions for antidepressants and antipsychotics without a diagnosis....
First Federal Zoloft Birth Defect Trial Scheduled
In a bellwether case, plaintiffs allege that Pfizer did not adequately warn patients that Zoloft (sertraline) would cause birth defects. The case is scheduled in Federal Court in March, and the verdict will have significant implications for future suits.
âUS Opioid Epidemic Fueled by Prescribing Practicesâ
Medscape Psychiatry reports that the âman-made epidemicâ of opioid abuse in the United States is the result of over-prescription and poor research.
Confusion Over Antipsychotic Dosing Data in RAISE Study
Yesterday, the New York Times reported that schizophrenia patients in an experimental treatment program (RAISE) who experienced better outcomes had been on lower doses of antipsychotics than normal. However, the article published in the American Journal of Psychiatry on Tuesday did not divulge any data on the varying antipsychotic drug doses in the different study groups.
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...
Dateline NBC to Cover Child Psychiatric Overmedication Epidemic This Sunday
This Sunday, June 12 at 7pm (EDT) on NBCs Dateline will cover MIA author Steve Francesco's book, Overmedicated and Undertreated: How I Lost My...
SSRI Antidepressants Appear to Raise Risk of Serious Respiratory Disease in Newborns
A new study has reinforced earlier warnings that taking SSRI antidepressants late in pregnancy appears to put mothers at a slightly increased risk of having newborns with persistent pulmonary hypertension.
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."
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,...
âPsychiatric Drugs Are Being Prescribed to Infantsâ
The New York Times reports that a growing number of infants and toddlers are being prescribed dangerous psychiatric drugs. âAlmost 20,000 prescriptions for risperidone (commonly known as Risperdal), quetiapine (Seroquel) and other antipsychotic medications were written in 2014 for children 2 and younger, a 50 percent jump from 13,000 just one year before.â