“Global Pandemic” of Fake Medicines, Say Researchers

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Teams of researchers from around the world, including from the US government, tested 17,000 drug samples and found that up to 41% failed to meet quality standards.

One in Seven Scots Take Antidepressants

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Following a fourfold-increase in antidepressant use in Scotland over the last two decades, one in seven Scots are taking the drugs.  Prescriptions for antipsychotics...

Oxytocin for Autism, Schizophrenia?

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The September/October issue of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry reviews the biological and therapeutic research findings for the role of oxytocin in attachment, and...

Collective Action Can Lead to Empowerment and Strengthened Relationships

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Individuals who participate in efforts of collective action report changes in personality, behavior, and worldview.

Published Clinical Trials are Misleading, PLoS Says

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Research from the Center for Clinical Trials at Johns Hopkins finds troubling differences between publicly available information on medications and the information that pharmaceutical...

Company Suing to Prevent Increased Drug Trial Transparency

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A company that conducts clinical drug trials for pharmaceutical companies is taking legal action against the UK government over transparency requirements.

Emphasis on Nutrition Needed to Reform Mental Health Treatments

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Even thought current mental health treatments are “suboptimal,” there is a lack of attention paid to the preventative effects of diet and nutrition. Recent studies suggests that nutritional changes can influence the risk for mental health issues and that nutritional supplements, called nutraceuticals, can be prescribed for existing conditions.

Despite Official Recommendations, Young Children Are Still Receiving Drugs Instead of Therapy for ‘ADHD’

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In 2011 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued guidelines recommending therapy over stimulant drugs as the primary treatment for children diagnosed with ‘ADHD.’ New research from the CDC reveals, however, that children between ages 2 and 5 are still being prescribed medications before receiving the recommended therapy or psychological services. Overall, the researchers found that 75% of these children are being prescribed “ADHD’ drugs while no more than 55% receive psychological treatments. Incredibly, among children on private insurances, the percentage of children receiving psychological services for ‘ADHD’ showed no increase following the 2011 recommendations.

Risperdal Whistle-Blower Honored in Texas, Fired in Pennsylvania

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Allen Jones, the whistle blower whose testimony resulted in a $158 million settlement by Johnson & Johnson for fraudulent marketing of Risperdal in Texas,...

Mixed Outcomes Six Months After First Psychosis

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French researchers looked at the outcomes of 467 "antipsychotic drug-naive" patients six months after a first psychotic episode (and treatment with medication), finding that...

FDA Releases New Guidelines on Scientific Literature Used for Promotional Purposes

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The FDA has released a new checklist meant to clarify the ways a pharmaceutical manufacturer may use scientific and medical literature to promote products....

Alan Dershowitz Will Work With Justina Pelletier’s Family on “Broader Constitutional Issues”

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Harvard Law professor (emeritus) Alan Dershowitz will represent Justina Pelletier in her family's fight to regain custody from the state of Massachusetts and Boston...

FDA System for Recording Adverse Drug Effects Perilously Deficient

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The system that the US FDA is using to gather and report on information about dangerous side effects from medications is extremely unreliable and...

A Father Grievesa Rush to Medicate

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"Diagnosis: Human", a New York Times op-ed, deftly and stirringly captures the paradoxes of the ADHD medication explosion: "My son was no angel (though...

Louisiana Sues Pfizer Over Fraudulent Zoloft Marketing

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The Attorney General of Louisiana has filed suit against Pfizer, Inc. for concealing "serious issues" regarding Zoloft's efficacy. Citing a "deliberate, systematic practice" of...

Increasing Mental Health Diagnoses of Youth, by Non-Psychiatrist MDs

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The mental health care of young people has increased more rapidly than that of adults, and has coincided with increased psychotropic medication use, according...

Childhood Abuse Predicts Lack of Resilience From Depression

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A study of 1,128 adults drawn from Canada's National Population Health Survey finds that more than three quarters (77%) recovered from depression in 2...

Lower Education Linked to Higher Antipsychotic Use in Swedish Elderly

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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.
empty medical waiting room

Higher Drop-Out Rates for Those Taking Antidepressants

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A review of 73 antidepressant studies finds that 12% more people drop out of clinical trials when taking antidepressants than when taking placebo, evidence that many find the adverse effects of antidepressants difficult to tolerate.

Glucose Metabolism “Derangements” from Second Generation Antipsychotics Clarified

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New Zealand and Chinese investigators believe they have clarified the mechanisms by which second generation antipsychotics cause serious "derangements" in glucose metabolism in the...

Psychiatrists Took Undisclosed Payments While Promoting Antipsychotic to Government

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Two psychiatrists took money from a pharmaceutical company, and then did not disclose it when they lobbied state legislators about the company's drug.

Mental Health Documentary “Healing Voices” Premiers Across 130 Communities in 8 Countries

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The producers of “Healing Voices” ­‐ a new social action documentary about mental health ­‐ are releasing the film via community screening partners in...

Trauma, First-Episode Schizophrenia, and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

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A team of Egyptian researchers found, in a sample of 74 outpatients, a relationship between trauma and first-episode schizophrenia, with a "mediating" role of...

Evidence for Chile’s School-Based Mental Health Program

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Chile’s Skills for Life (SFL) program, the largest school-based psychosocial intervention program in the world, has demonstrated improved behavioral and academic outcomes for elementary students identified as “at risk.” A team of Chilean and U.S. researchers assessed the SFL program and will publish their results in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP).

Promising Preliminary Results from a Small Study of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy

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A new study offers promising results for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for depression.