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.
Antipsychotics Increase Risk of Dementia; New Research Illuminates Why
In JAMA psychiatry, researchers outline new theories connecting antipsychotic use in people with schizophrenia and increased dementia risk.
Mental Health Nurses Do Not Routinely Assess for Effects of Antipsychotic Medications
Researchers believe that side-effect monitoring is critical because of the increase in the use of antipsychotics
Antipsychotic Use Does Not Correlate With Conversion to Psychosis
Researchers in Brazil find, in a meta-analysis, that only 30% of youth deemed to be of ultra high risk of psychosis do in fact...
Antipsychotics Increase Risk of Heart Attack in the Elderly
In a study of 10,969 older patients treated with antipsychotics in Quebec, Canada, researchers found a 2.19 times greater risk of heart attack in...
Two-Thirds of Schizophrenia Patients Do Not Remit on Antipsychotics
A new analysis of antipsychotic treatment of schizophrenia (published in Schizophrenia Bulletin) has found that two-thirds of patients treated this way do not experience symptom remission.
Common Parkinson’s Drugs Linked to Pathological Gambling and Hypersexuality
"Pathological gambling, hypersexuality, compulsive shopping and other impulse control disorders were associated with the use of dopamine receptor agonists, often prescribed for Parkinson’s disease,...
Antipsychotic-induced Sexual Dysfunction Underreported
Researchers found some antipsychotics to be worse than others for causing sexual dysfunction.
Antipsychotics Linked to Cognitive & Memory Impairments
Finnish reseachers report in Schizophrenia Research that antipsychotic use is associated with cognitive and memory impairments. The University of Oulu team studied forty people...
Safety Analysis Weighs Harms and Benefits of Antipsychotic Drugs
The researchers find that the drug effects for reducing psychosis are small and that treatment failure and severe side effects are common.
Family Economic Context Linked to Adolescents’ Antipsychotic Use
In a study of the Swedish Medical Birth Registry published in the British Medical Journal, researchers identified all 324,510 single children born between 1988...
Identifying Psychiatric Drugs Leading to Emergency Room Visits
More than ten-percent of adults in the United States are currently prescribed at least one psychiatric medication but there is currently a lack of research on the prevalence of adverse drug events (ADEs) associated with these prescriptions outside of clinical trials.
“Antipsychotic Use in Youth Without Psychosis: A Double-edged Sword”
This month’s issue of JAMA Psychiatry ran an editorial commenting on recent research revealing that the majority of youth prescribed antipsychotics have not been diagnosed with a mental disorder.
Increasing Use of Antipsychotics for Disruptive Behavior in Children
Canadian researchers systematically reviewed all randomized controlled trials of second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) and placebo in the treatment of disruptive behavior disorders in children, finding...
How Exercise Can Help With First Episode Psychosis
New study examines the experiences of people utilizing an exercise program following a first-episode psychosis.
Psychiatric Drugs, Especially Antipsychotics, Contribute to Increasing Drug Costs
Antipsychotics have overtaken antidepressants as the most costly class of psychiatric medication in England, according to a study by Stephen Ilyas and Joanna Moncrieff...
Antipsychotics for Depression: Added Risk for Little Benefit
A review of research on antipsychotic medications as an adjunctive treatment for depression published this week in PLoS Medicine finds that the widespread practice...
How Do We Test the Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Antipsychotics?
A new attempt to study the neurological effects of long-term exposure to antipsychotics uses healthy volunteers on minimal doses for 15 days.
Antipsychotic Dose Reduction Linked To Long-term Improvements In First-Episode Schizophrenia Patients
Careful reductions in dosage levels of antipsychotic medications over time improved long-term rates of recovery and functional remission in patients diagnosed with a first-episode psychosis.
New Review of Antipsychotics for Schizophrenia Questions Evidence for Long Term Use
A systematic review of the limited research available on the long-term effects of antipsychotics finds fewer symptoms in those off of the drugs.
20-Year Data Show Antipsychotics Do Not Reduce Psychosis
Martin Harrow's study tracing the effects of antipsychotics on 139 schizophrenia (SZ) and mood-disordered patients over 20 years, just published in Psychological Medicine, finds...
Meta-Analysis Ties Gray Matter Loss to Antipsychotic Dose
Antipsychotics are currently the predominant treatment for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, but there is an accumulating body of research that links the use of these drugs to structural abnormalities in the brain. A recent meta-analysis suggests that gray matter loss in the brain may depend on the dose and class of the antipsychotic.
Antipsychotics for Anorexia: Weight Gain and Sedation as Treatment
A study published online today (May 26, 2012) in Current Psychiatry Reports recommends Zyprexa as "elusive" pharmacologic solution to anorexia nervosa. On the basis...
Recovery Rate Six Times Higher For Those Who Stop Antipsychotics Within Two Years
People with "serious mental illness" who stop taking antipsychotics are more likely to recover, even when accounting for baseline severity.
Antipsychotics Again Strongly Linked to Falls and Fractures
Three independent studies in two journals reported strong links between antipsychotics and falls and fractures.