Coroner Finds Anti-Smoking Drug Contributed to Man’s Suicide
From ABC: A Queensland Coroner has found that the anti-smoking drug Champix played a role in the suicide of a 22-year-old man, Timothy John, who...
Pharmaceutical Industry Gifts Linked to Costlier Prescribing Practices
New study finds that pharmaceutical industry gifts to medical providers in Washington D.C. are associated with higher cost, higher volume prescribing behavior.
Study Examines the Difficulty of Withdrawing from Antidepressant Drugs
Correcting unnecessary long-term antidepressant use is difficult and met with apprehension by providers and service-users.
Increase in ED Visits Due to Drug Related Adverse Events
A recently published article in the Journal of the American Medical Association highlights an increase in emergency department (ED) visits due to drug-related adverse or negative events.
Petition Calls on Pharma Companies to Offer Tapering Kits for Depression and Anxiety Drugs
A change.org petition out of the United Kingdom is addressing the extreme difficulty faced by people who attempt to taper off of antidepressants and...
The Ketamine Consensus?
From Discover Magazine: A group of psychiatrists from the American Psychiatric Association has recently released A Consensus Statement on the Use of Ketamine in the...
Rise in Psychiatric Prescriptions With NOS Diagnosis
A “not otherwise specified” (NOS) diagnosis is often used when an individual may have some symptoms related to a psychiatric diagnosis but does not meet enough criteria to warrant a particular diagnosis. A new study, published online ahead of print in Psychiatric Services, reveals that the proportion of mental health visits resulting in such NOS diagnoses rose to nearly fifty percent, and that these diagnoses do not result in more conservative psychiatric drug prescriptions.
Less Than Half of Clinical Trials Comply with Legislation to Accurately Report Results
A new study finds that sponsors of clinical trials in the EU continue to fail at reporting their results as required by recent legislation.
Phony Peer Review: The More we Look, the More we Find
From STAT: Publishers are increasingly finding previously published studies that need to be retracted due to fraudulent peer review processes. Springer recently announced the retraction of...
What Transgender Actors can Teach Medical Residents
A new training program teaches medical residents how to provide appropriate care and services to transgender clients.
People Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder at Increased Risk for Parkinson’s
Increased Parkinson's risk could be related to lithium, antipsychotic, and antiepileptic drug use.
Patients More Likely to Refuse Drug-Only Treatment, Study Finds
The American Psychological Association (APA) recently published a study finding that patients assigned to drug-only treatments were more likely to refuse treatment, and more likely to drop out before treatment completion, than patients assigned to psychotherapy only.
Woman Shares How Coming Off Antidepressant Ruined Her Life
From Metro: Originally prescribed the antidepressant Venlafaxine for migraines and persistent low moods, Tabitha Dow shares some of the persistent, debilitating symptoms she continues to...
Systematic Review Finds Antidepressants Double the Risk for Agitation and Violence in Healthy Volunteers
The Nordic Cochrane Center conducted a systematic review of existing research trials on antidepressants and found that the drugs doubled the risk of feelings...
The Smartphone Psychiatrist
In this piece for The Atlantic, David Dobbs delves into the life of former NIMH director Thomas Insel, his critiques of research within the field of...
“Court Orders Electroconvulsive Therapy for Girl with Depression”
The Irish Times reports that a judge has ordered ECT for a 16-year-old with depression and an eating disorder. The doctor asked the court...
Pharma CEO Says he can Stop Profiting off Opioid Epidemic
From The Onion: "Visibly trembling as he wiped beads of perspiration from his forehead, Arcelis Pharmaceuticals CEO Paul Corrier told reporters Wednesday that he could...
Study Finds No Benefit for Testosterone Treatments
Researchers find no benefits for testosterone as a treatment for improving mood, psychological well-being, and cognitive function.
SSRI Ineffective at Treating Depression in Individuals with Chronic Kidney Disease
Dr. Madhukar Trivedi and colleagues find that the SSRI sertraline does not reduce depressive symptoms any more than placebo in people with Chronic Kidney Disease.
Polypharmacy is Compounding the Opioid Epidemic
From The Lown Institute: The recent deaths of several beloved musicians, actors, and other public figures have brought to light the dangers of taking multiple, potentially fatal drugs.
"In...
Do Antidepressants Work? A People’s Review of the Evidence
After a meta-analysis of RCTs of antidepressants was published in Lancet, psychiatry stated that it proved that "antidepressants" work. However, effectiveness studies of real-world patients reveal the opposite: the medications increase the likelihood that patients will become chronically depressed, and disabled by the disorder.
The Trump Administration Isn’t Taking on Health Care Waste
From U.S. News: The Trump administration is not taking any actions to address the epidemic of waste, i.e. unnecessary tests and treatments, in the medical...
Trust Falls – Are We in a New Phase of Corporate Research?
From The Scholarly Kitchen: We may be in a new phase of corporation-funded research. According to the 2016 Science & Engineering Indicators from the National...
Study Links SSRIs to Violent Crime in Youth
Individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 are more likely to commit a violent crime if they are taking an SSRI antidepressant than if they are not, according to new research out of Sweden. The study published in PLoS Medicine on Tuesday, suggests "warnings about the increased risk of violent behavior among young people taking SSRIs might be needed.”
“A River of Lost Souls Runs Through Western Colorado”
The Washington Post investigates the epidemic of suicide and the overuse of psychiatric drugs that is sweeping through towns in Colorado.
