Meta-Analysis Ties Gray Matter Loss to Antipsychotic Dose

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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 Associated with High Risk of Death in Children

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A new study has found that children and adolescents taking a high dose of antipsychotics are almost twice as likely to die of any cause than children on other types of medications.

Cumulative Risk of Impairment and Death From Anticholinergic Medication

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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...

Most Cases of Tardive Dyskinesia are Permanent

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Only one out eight patients, out of 108 with tardive dyskinesia, recovered from the disorder in an Emory University Movement Disorders Clinic study. The...

Lower Education Linked to Higher Antipsychotic Use in Swedish Elderly

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Elderly people in Sweden are five times more likely to be taking antipsychotics if they have a diagnosis of dementia, according to research published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. And among those people with dementia, the lower their education the higher the likelihood they’re taking antipsychotics.

Service-Users See Long-Term Antipsychotic Use as Compromising Recovery, Review Finds

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A new meta-review examines the experiences of antipsychotic drugs use among people diagnosed with a psychotic disorder.

Sudden Antipsychotic Withdrawal—Not Low Dose—Leads to Relapse

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A new article in Lancet Psychiatry debunks past studies claiming that those on low doses of antipsychotics are more likely to relapse.

Recovery Rate Six Times Higher For Those Who Stop Antipsychotics Within Two Years

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People with "serious mental illness" who stop taking antipsychotics are more likely to recover, even when accounting for baseline severity.

Claims That Long-term Antipsychotic Use Leads to Better Outcomes are Misleading, Researchers Argue

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Researchers reveal the limitations and misleading interpretations of two recent studies that claim to demonstrate that long-term antipsychotic use leads to better outcomes.

Antipsychotics Ineffective Against Cocaine, Stimulant Addictions

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Although cocaine and psychostimulant dependence are thought to be related to increased dopamine release, research from Tokyo and Long Island finds that the effect...

Better Recovery and Less Relapse Without Meds: A 20-Year Study

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Researchers at the University of Illinois College of Medicine found, in a 20-year prospective study of 139 psychotic patients, that patients had a far...

Multiple Medications Associated With Poorer Outcomes

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Research from Germany finds that people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective diagnoses given multiple medications - an antipsychotic plus a benzodiazepine or more than one...

FDA Warns About New Impulse-Control Problems Associated With Abilify

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Yesterday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a warning that the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole or Abilify is associated with compulsive and uncontrollable...

Researchers Challenge Industry-Friendly Depression Guideline

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Review of a new mixed depression guideline reveals financial bias of guideline developers and lack of evidence supporting recommendations for prescribing of antipsychotics.

Breaking Blind: Antipsychotic Drug Efficacy May Be Overestimated

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Only 4 of 188 antipsychotic trials assessed blinding, and in all 4 cases, the blind was broken, potentially leading to an overestimation of the drug effect.
Question mark inside a maze in the shape of human head.

New Study: The Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (CHR-P) Model Is Flawed

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The CHR-P model focuses on “attenuated psychosis” to predict “transition” to schizophrenia and ignores other factors. But new research shows that the model is a poor predictor.

Vitamin B6 Effective in Reducing Antipsychotic Induced Akathisia

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A recent RCT showed that vitamin B6 is as effective as propranolol for the treatment of akathisia.

Study Finds Improved Functioning for ‘Schizophrenia’ Without Antipsychotics

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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...

Slew of New Studies Spot Links Between Psychiatric Medications and Bone Loss, Fractures

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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.

Cognitive Function Improved by Reducing Antipsychotics

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A 28-week randomized controlled study by researchers in Japan, Canada and the United States finds that a 50% reduction of risperidone or olanzapine significantly...

Elderly With Dementia can be Withdrawn From Antipsychotics

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The Cochrane Library reports that "many older people with Alzheimer's dementia and NPS (neuropsychiatric symptoms) can be withdrawn from chronic antipsychotic medication without detrimental effects...

The Charade of New Drug Approvals for Schizophrenia

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The FDA recently approved lumateperone for schizophrenia. A review of the clinical trials reveals a testing process that is fatally flawed, and a new drug coming to market that doesn't provide a clinically meaningful benefit.

Prenatal Antipsychotic Exposure Causes Neuromotor Deficits

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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...

Antipsychotics Even Riskier For The Elderly Than Previously Thought

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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.

Study Explores Cognitive Effects of Antipsychotics

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Reduced usage of antipsychotics in first-episode psychosis was associated with improved executive functioning.