Day Two of the Philly J&J Trial: “Risperdal Popcorn” & Other Perks

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Testimony at day two of the Philadelphia trial concerning a 17-year-old Texas boy who grew breasts after taking Risperdal from the age of five...

Majority of Anorexia Patients are Prescribed Psychotropics Despite Lack of Data

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Research from the medical schools of Harvard University and the University of Melbourne, reported in the December International Journal of Eating Disorders, found that...

Compulsory Supervision Does Not Reduce Hospital Re-Admissions

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A study of 442 individuals discharged from a U.K. hospital, published today in The Lancet, finds that the rate of readmission after 12 months...

Antidepressant is Toxic to Fungus

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Zoloft isn't just for depression any more; it also kills fungal meningitis. Researchers from Texas A&M find that "The problem for many current antifungal...

J&J Asks to Keep Risperdal Studies Under Seal

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Law 360 reports that Johnson & Johnson asked a Pennsylvania judge to keep a series of clinical studies related to the drug Risperdal under...

University of Minnesota Suspends Enrollment in Psychiatric Drug Trials

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After a second critical report this month about its psychiatry department's ethical practices and conflicts of interest, the University of Minnesota has temporarily suspended enrollment in its psychiatric drug trials.

Inadequate Blinding Associated With Positive Treatment Findings, Industrial Sponsorship, and Schizophrenia Diagnosis

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Despite the integral importance of blinding and blinding assessment to randomized controlled trials (RCTs), they are rarely reported on or documented in trial reports...

Bullying Affects Mental and Physical Health Long-Term

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Researchers from Boston Children's Hospital analyzed data from 4297 children surveyed over 3 time points (fifth, seventh and tenth grades) to find that bullying...

Some Common Psychiatric Medications Associated With Pneumonia

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Pneumonia cases in the elderly are strongly associated with use of anticholinergic medications, including benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants.

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....

Nursing Home Director Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Medicating Residents With Psychotropic...

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The former director of a California nursing home has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for inappropriate medication of 23 individuals. All of...

Abilify Lawsuit Dismissed

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LAW360 reports that a Pennsylvania federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit over a movement disorder attributed to Bristol-Myers' drug Abilify.  The judge held that...

Canadian Newspaper Investigates Health Problems of ADHD Meds

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The Toronto Star's investigation of ADHD meds has revealed 600 cases so far of Canadian children "suffering serious, sometimes fatal side effects suspected to...

Why Most Biomedical Findings Echoed by Newspapers Turn Out to be False

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Researches in France and the United States found that seven of the top ten most reported-upon studies on ADHD in newspapers in the 1990s...

Consumer Reports Recommends Against Antipsychotics for Depression

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Consumer Reports recommends against antipsychotic "augmentation therapy" for depression. The consumer watchdog magazine finds that the unproven efficacy, harmful side effects, availability of alternatives,...

J&J Settlement Inspires PA Legislators on False Claims Act

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Following Johnson & Johnson's $2.2 billion settlement for off-label marketing and kickbacks related to its antipsychotic Risperdal, Pennsylvania legislators Brandon Neuman and Tony DeLuca...

Antipsychotics Ineffective Against Cocaine, Stimulant Addictions

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Although cocaine and psychostimulant dependence are thought to be related to increased dopamine release, research from Tokyo and Long Island finds that the effect...

South Dakota Court Revives Cymbalta Suicide Case

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A federal appeals court has reversed a lower court's summary judgment in favor of Eli Lilly,   allowing the parents of a South Dakota...

Community-Based Treatment Beats Facilities in Low-Income Country Schizophrenia Study

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Treatment by lay health workers is more effective than standard facility-based care at reducing disability and psychotic symptoms in people with schizophrenia diagnoses, according...

Report on University of Minnesota Psychiatric Research Practices “Scathing”

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The latest investigative report into the University of Minnesota's psychiatric research practices was "scathing," reported Forbes in a two-part story.

PA Supreme Court Rules Pharmas Responsible for Defective Drugs

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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that pharmaceutical companies can be held liable for negligent design and marketing of drugs, agreeing with the family...

Happiness and First-Episode Schizophrenia

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Canadian researchers find that 31 people with first-episode schizophrenia diagnoses were as happy as 29 controls, according to a self-reported questionnaire measuring happiness, life...

Sham Paper Published by 149 Open-Access Journals

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An article ostensibly showing cancer growth inhibition by a molecule derived from lichen — but which was in fact a spoof written by an editor...

Man Found “Not Criminally Responsible” for Shooting Wife While on Chantix

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The Washington Post reports that "a Maryland man was found not criminally responsible for shooting his wife in the neck in their home in...

Dateline NBC to Cover Child Psychiatric Overmedication Epidemic This Sunday

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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...