clozapine medication

My Mother Accidentally Took My Medication

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Although I have usually been the one suffering from side effects, with others watching on, the roles were reversed in this incident. Seeing my mother impaired caused me heartache, and I am now rethinking my treatment regimen. Is this stuff good for me for the long term? Is this the only stuff that can help me, or is there an alternative?

Antidepressant Use Linked to Dementia

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A new study finds that elderly individuals using antidepressants are at significantly higher risk for dementia compared to depressed individuals who did not take the drugs.

Still Mistreating the Elderly with Psychiatric Drugs: Benzodiazepines

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Despite safety concerns, a new study reveals that there has been no change in the use of benzodiazepines in the elderly from 2001 to 2010.
elderly woman

Stop Shock Now: Psychiatry’s War Against Women and the Elderly

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As a movement strategy, electroshock must be clearly framed and understood as a blatant human rights violation — a profound and devastating crime against people’s health and lives. Here are three possible action proposals in our continuing struggle to abolish electroshock.

Review Finds Little Evidence that Electroconvulsive Therapy is Effective for Depression

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Researchers examined the dearth of support for Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for depressive symptoms in light of studies detailing the associated risks.
death in hospital

Florida’s “Free Kill” Law – A Death Trap for the State’s Populace and Visitors

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Florida’s Wrongful Death Act essentially denies residents and visitors alike the right to live once they enter a hospital. The law has been dubbed “Free Kill” because while it can cost money to correct mistakes, keep hospitals safely staffed and update equipment, it is free to kill.

BPS Releases Review of Alternatives to Antipsychotics

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BPS releases report encouraging behavioral interventions for people with dementia, rather than antipsychotics

Study Finds No Correlation between Personality at 14 and 77

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This result calls into question popular notions about the correlations between personality and later-life achievement and health outcomes.

Biogen Pushes FDA to Approve Failed Alzheimer’s Drug

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A new analysis, published in Lancet Neurology, demonstrates how Biogen is spinning results from two failed trials for a new Alzheimer's drug.

Inappropriate Use of Antipsychotics on Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

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One-third of adults with an intellectual or developmental disability are dispensed antipsychotics, despite having no existing psychiatric diagnosis.

Certain Antidepressants, Sleep Aids Associated with Higher Dementia Risk

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Greater cumulative doses of drugs that are anticholinergic or block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine are associated with significant increases in dementia and Alzheimer's.

Married Individuals with Schizophrenia Show Better Outcomes, Study Finds

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14-year study of a rural sample in China shows those who were married had higher rates of remission from schizophrenia.

Loneliness as Lethal: Researchers Name Social Isolation a ‘Public Health Threat’

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Researchers present loneliness as a health threat facing a growing number of Americans.
housing ducks

Hospitalized and Heading Toward Homelessness

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Upon my release I was dumped at a motel with no ID, no money or method of payment, and not even a cell phone to call friends or family for help. My belongings were still locked in a safe back at the hospital. Where are the real advocates for more low-income housing, and where the hell have they been for those who are incarcerated, whether it be in jails and prisons or mental facilities?

Benzodiazepines Continue to be Prescribed Without Psychotherapy to Older Adults

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Researchers call for shift toward proven alternatives like psychotherapy in face of continued evidence of safety risks of benzodiazepines.

Anticholinergic Medications Linked to Dementia Similar to Early Alzheimer’s

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A new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, investigates the effects of anticholinergic medications, such as antidepressants and antipsychotics, on cognition in older adults diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Replacing Pain with Pain: Hazards of Antidepressant Use for Chronic Pain Relief

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The paradox of relieving chronic pain with an antidepressant (and a new set of symptoms).

Polypharmacy Associated with Cognitive Decline in Elderly Patients

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Study finds that elderly patients taking at least 5 medications were at increased risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

Nonclinical Factors are Associated with Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use in Older Adults

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White race and size of initial prescription, along with poor sleep quality, are associated with long-term benzodiazepine use in older adults.

Effort to Tackle Overuse of Antipsychotics in Older Adults Backfires

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A partnership designed to decrease antipsychotic use in elderly patients may have led to increased use of medications with even worse risk/benefit profiles.

Ethical Failings in Experimental Drug Safety Trials

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Leading human subjects ethics researcher questions exploitation of uninsured minorities in experimental drug trials.

Investigation Reveals Alarming ECT Practices in England

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Audit of ECT usage, demographics, and adherence to guidelines and legislation raises concern over its continued use.

Ritalin Used to be “Grandma’s Little Helper”

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Eugene Raikhel reveals ads from 1966 where Ritalin, now prescribed largely for ADHD, was marketed as a “kind of mind antidepressant for housewives.”  “I...

Minimal Exercise Protects Against Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults

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Study of older adults shows those who consistently exercised as little as 15 minutes, 3 times/week are less likely to develop depressive symptoms.

New Medications Fail to Show Efficacy for Alzheimer’s Disease

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Three phase III clinical trials assessing the efficacy of Lundbeck’s investigational drug idalopirdine for Alzheimer’s disease have failed