Antipsychotic Augmentation Increases Risk of Death
A new study finds that adding an antipsychotic to existing antidepressant treatment is associated with a 45% increased risk of early death.
Alberta Long-term Care Homes Reduce Antipsychotic Use by 50%
The provincial government health service of Alberta, Canada recently concluded a successful pilot project that reduced the use of antipsychotic medications for patients with...
Psychotropics Linked to Worse Physical Problems and Mortality in Psychiatric Patients
Common psychotropic medications may be contributing to the higher rates of physical illnesses and mortality in people diagnosed with mental illnesses.
For People “At Risk for Psychosis,” Antipsychotics Associated with Worse Outcomes
Researchers studied whether antipsychotics could prevent transition to full psychosis and found that the drugs worsened outcomes.
Study Finds Improved Functioning for ‘Schizophrenia’ Without Antipsychotics
Long-term treatment with antipsychotic drugs is currently considered the standard treatment for patients diagnosed with ‘schizophrenia.’ A new study challenges this practice, however. The...
New Research Suggests Brain Abnormalities in ‘Schizophrenia’ May Result From Antipsychotics
Study finds that reduced cortical thickness and brain surface area associated with 'schizophrenia' may result from antipsychotic drug use.
Outcome Reporting Bias in Antipsychotic Medication Trials
A new study in the journal Translational Psychiatry, an influential journal in biological psychiatry published by Nature, challenges the state of the research on antipsychotic drugs.
Slew of New Studies Spot Links Between Psychiatric Medications and Bone Loss, Fractures
Four different studies conducted in different ways examining different groups have linked use of certain psychiatric drugs to bone fracture risks and negative impacts on human bone development.
More Evidence Antipsychotics Reduce Brain Volume
People diagnosed with schizophrenia experience reductions in brain volume that increase over time, and the amount of those reductions increases in proportion to the...
Sexual Dysfunction from Antipsychotics Common — But Poorly Monitored by Physicians
Describing the prevalence and management of adverse effects from antipsychotics as "a neglected area" of study, a team of researchers from the UK has published a systematic review in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. They aimed to identify the prevalence of, and management strategies for nine categories of adverse effects, including sedation, weight gain, metabolic syndrome, sexual dysfunction and cardiovascular effects.
Very Slow Taper Best for Antipsychotic Discontinuation
An article in JAMA Psychiatry advises very slow tapering for best results when discontinuing antipsychotic drugs.
Cumulative Risk of Impairment and Death From Anticholinergic Medication
The New York Times reports that a two-year longitudinal study of over 13,000 men and women over 65 found that anticholinergic medications, which include many...
Prenatal Antipsychotic Exposure Causes Neuromotor Deficits
Researchers studying 309 6-month-olds at Emory University's Infant Development Laboratory found that infants prenatally exposed to antipsychotics showed significantly lower scores on a standardized...
Pentagon Was Warned Off Antipsychotic for PTSD
Despite 2004 clinical guidelines issued by the Veterans' Administration that "there is insufficient evidence to recommend atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of PTSD," ...
2nd-Generation Antipsychotics Cause Extrapyramidal Side Effects as Much as 1st-Generation
According to researchers from Yale and the U.K., the improvements in extrapyramidal side effects expected from 2nd-generation antipsychotics has not been realized, while the...
Vitamin B6 Effective in Reducing Antipsychotic Induced Akathisia
A recent RCT showed that vitamin B6 is as effective as propranolol for the treatment of akathisia.
Nonwhites Twice as Likely to Receive Injectable Antipsychotics
Research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry shows that of all 901 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia from July 2009 to June 2010 at a...
Antipsychotic Trials Show Increasing Placebo Response and Declining Drug Response
A new review of antipsychotic trials conducted over the last 24 years finds that the placebo response rate is steadily increasing, and drug response is decreasing.
Antipsychotics for Dementia: Not Justified and Risky
In a study of antipsychotics used to treat 75,445 patients in nursing homes in the United States, researchers from Harvard Medical School, Columbia and...
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.
Review Finds FDA Approval of Digital Antipsychotic Misguided
The approval of the digital antipsychotic may open the door for more pharmaceutical company profits without evidence of benefits to patients.
New Rating Tool for Tapering Antidepressants and Antipsychotics
Researchers developed a rating scale to better assess service users’ experiences tapering antidepressant and/or antipsychotic medication.
Researchers Discover How Antipsychotics Lead To Parkinsonism
A new study published this month in the journal Neuron identifies the mechanism by which antipsychotic drugs can induce parkinsonism, a condition involving movement...
The Rise of the Digital Asylum
The digital pill Abilify MyCite, which is now being introduced into the market, foretells of a future where such technology is used to monitor the behavior, location and "medication compliance" of a person 24 hours a day.
Antipsychotics Increase Mortality Risk in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease
A new study in JAMA Neurology finds that the use of antipsychotic drugs more than doubled the risk of death in patients with Parkinson’s...
