Psych Med Prescribing After Perinatal/Neonatal Death

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Research from MIA blogger Jeffrey Lacasse finds that "at present, there exists no rigorous evidence to support the prescription of Ads (antidepressants) in bereavement....

Integrating Patient Voices in ICD-11 Development

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First-of-its-kind study explores patient perspectives surrounding five major psychiatric diagnoses to inform revisions to clinical guidelines.

Rates of Opioid Use Remain High Among US Adolescents

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Researchers investigate trends in opioid use, prescriptions, misuse, and access reported by adolescents and young adults.
Doctor welcoming a patient

How Providers Can Support Psychiatric Drug Discontinuation

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Supportive patient-practitioner relationships are crucial to the successful discontinuation of psychiatric medication.

A Lot of “Spin” in Studies of Using Antidepressants for Treating Anxiety

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There are a lot of publication and reporting biases in studies of the efficacy of second-generation antidepressants for the treatment of anxiety.

Lack of Guidance Available for Discontinuing Psychiatric Drugs

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A new article discusses the lack of research dedicated to discontinuing psychiatric drugs and reviews existing strategies.

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.

Study Identifies Link Between Antidepressants and Newborn Hypertension

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A new study, published in the American Journal of Physiology, investigates how the use of antidepressants during pregnancy can lead to a life-threatening lung...

ADHD Medication Use Rising Dramatically, Especially Adults

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A report released today by Express Scripts, the nation's largest prescription drug manager, offers "the most current and comprehensive analysis of ADHD medication use"...

NIMH Director Thomas Insel Acknowledges That Antipsychotics May Worsen Long-Term Outcomes

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Thomas Insel, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), acknowledged yesterday in his "Director's Blog" that the long-term outcome studies of...

Go to Sleep

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A blog in Scientific American reviews sleep’s role in "Obesity, Schizophrenia, Diabetes... Everything".  The article notes  a tight link between depression and sleep apnea,...

In-school Exercise a Help for Attention Deficits

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Researcher Michele Tine of Dartmouth College’s Poverty and Learning Lab reports in the journal Frontiers in Psychology that 12 minutes of aerobic exercise caused...

Effects of Stress Can Cross Generations

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Researchers from the University of Cambridge have found, for the first time, that genes affected by stress during life can be passed to the...

Undisclosed Financial Conflicts Endemic in Clinical Practice Guidelines

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While there has been a recent push to account for financial conflicts of interest in medical research, less attention has been paid to organizations...

Fluoxetine in Adolescence Raises Sensitivity to Stress in Adults

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Research on neurochemicals associated with moods in mice and rats finds that, while less depression-like behavior was observed in those receiving fluoxetine (Prozac) administration...

Transgender Children Development Consistent with Current Gender, Not Sex Assigned at Birth

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Transgender children show strong identification and preferences stereotypically associated with their current gender identities, not their sex assigned at birth.

Stimulants Don’t Improve Academic Performance in Kids with ADHD

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“Efforts to improve learning in children with ADHD should focus on obtaining effective academic instruction rather than stimulant medication.”

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...

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...

Biological Explanations for Antidepressant Withdrawal

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Two South African researchers review scientific understanding of the brain changes that lead to antidepressant discontinuation syndrome (ADS) in Human Psycho-pharmacology: Clinical and Experimental....

British Medical Association Takes On Prescription Drug Dependence

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Last year the British Medical Association (BMA) released a report on dependence and withdrawal from prescription drugs including benzodiazepines, z-drugs, opioids, and antidepressants. Now,...

Psych Concepts Creep Into Our Everyday Experiences: An Interview with Nicholas Haslam

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MIA’s Ayurdhi Dhar interviews Nicholas Haslam about how psychiatric terms get diluted and creep into everyday language, altering our experiences.

Family Economic Context Linked to Adolescents’ Antipsychotic Use

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In a study of the Swedish Medical Birth Registry published in the British Medical Journal, researchers identified all 324,510 single children born between 1988...

Corrupt Pharma Execs Could Soon Face Jail in Canada

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Pharmaceutical industry executives who mislead the public could soon face fines of up to $5 million or two years in jail in Canada. According...

Epilepsy Drugs Can Induce Psychosis in Some Patients, Study Finds

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In this month’s issue of the journal Brain a new study investigates whether the drugs prescribed to control seizures can increase the risk of...