Married Individuals with Schizophrenia Show Better Outcomes, Study Finds
14-year study of a rural sample in China shows those who were married had higher rates of remission from schizophrenia.
Benzodiazepines Continue to be Prescribed Without Psychotherapy to Older Adults
Researchers call for shift toward proven alternatives like psychotherapy in face of continued evidence of safety risks of benzodiazepines.
My Mother Accidentally Took My Medication
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?
Floridaās “Free Kill” Law ā A Death Trap for the Stateās Populace and Visitors
Floridaās Wrongful Death Act essentially denies residents and visitors alike the right to live once they enter a hospital. The law has been dubbed āFree Killā because while it can cost money to correct mistakes, keep hospitals safely staffed and update equipment, it is free to kill.
Antidepressant Use Linked to Dementia
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.
Minimal Exercise Protects Against Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults
Study of older adults shows those who consistently exercised as little as 15 minutes, 3 times/week are less likely to develop depressive symptoms.
Antipsychotic Use in Nursing Homes Causing Many Adverse Effects in Elderly
A literature review found that the extensive off-label use of antipsychotic medications in nursing homes is causing many adverse effects and providing limited benefits.
BPS Releases Review of Alternatives to Antipsychotics
BPS releases report encouraging behavioral interventions for people with dementia, rather than antipsychotics
Music Therapy Interventions Reduce Depression Symptoms in Dementia
Therapists can use music to meet the emotional and social needs of individuals with dementia.
Stop Shock Now: Psychiatryās War Against Women and the Elderly
As a movement strategy, electroshock must be clearly framed and understood as a blatant human rights violation ā a profound and devastating crime against peopleās health and lives. Here are three possible action proposals in our continuing struggle to abolish electroshock.
Addressing Depression and Heart Disease with Exercise and Physical Activity
A new study examines the effects of midlife exercise on depression and cardiovascular health later in life.
Certain Antidepressants, Sleep Aids Associated with Higher Dementia Risk
Greater cumulative doses of drugs that are anticholinergic or block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine are associated with significant increases in dementia and Alzheimer's.
Lack of Face-to-Face Contact Doubles Depression Risk for Older Adults
New research suggests that more frequent in-person contact lessens the risk of depression in older adults. The study, published in this monthās issue of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, found that in Americans over fifty the more face-to-face contact they had with children, family and friends, the less likely they were to develop depressive symptoms.
Benzodiazepines Linked to Increased Risk of Alzheimer’s: Causation or Not?
According to a study in the British Medical Journal, benzodiazepine use is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing Alzheimerās disease. Some experts...
Deprescribing: How to be on Less Medication for Healthier Aging
In this post forĀ Better Health While Aging, Dr. Leslie Kernisan discusses the importance of making sure that older adults are taking the minimum amount...
Benzodiazepine Prescriptions Increase with Overdose Deaths
A recent article in the American Journal of Public Health calls for policy level interventions to reduce the use of benzodiazepines, drugs commonly prescribed...
Antipsychotics Even Riskier For The Elderly Than Previously Thought
Antipsychotic medications that are commonly being used to help control behaviors in elderly people with dementia seem to be causing premature deaths at high rates.
Biogen Pushes FDA to Approve Failed Alzheimerās Drug
A new analysis, published in Lancet Neurology, demonstrates how Biogen is spinning results from two failed trials for a new Alzheimer's drug.
AARP Wins Class Action Against Over-drugging of Seniors
A California nursing home has settled with AARP in an unprecedented class-action lawsuit against the facility for using inappropriate kinds and amounts of psychiatric...
Loneliness as Lethal: Researchers Name Social Isolation a āPublic Health Threatā
Researchers present loneliness as a health threat facing a growing number of Americans.
Anticholinergic Medications Linked to Dementia Similar to Early Alzheimerās
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.
Polypharmacy Associated with Cognitive Decline in Elderly Patients
Study finds that elderly patients taking at least 5 medications were at increased risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
5 Steps to Personalize Deprescribing Practices
Researchers identify simple ways for clinicians to begin deprescribing conversations.
Effort to Tackle Overuse of Antipsychotics in Older Adults Backfires
A partnership designed to decrease antipsychotic use in elderly patients may have led to increased use of medications with even worse risk/benefit profiles.
Not an Onion Study: Underpowered Analysis Of Poor Quality Data Finds Antipsychotics Actually Aren’t...
University of Groningen researchers analyzed only small, short-term clinical trials of generally poor quality to determine that antipsychotics are not linked to increased risk of death in elderly people with dementia.
