Psychotropics During Pregnancy Raise Risk of Babies with Low Birth Weight, Hospitalizations
The use by mothers of any of four major classes of psychiatric medications during pregnancy significantly raises the risk that their babies will be born with low birth weights and will need to be hospitalized.
Researchers Call for Reappraisal of Adverse Mental Effects of Antipsychotics, NIDS
In a study published yesterday, researchers from the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo bring attention to a condition known as neuroleptic-induced deficit syndrome (NIDS)...
Children Diagnosed with ADHD Younger are More Likely to get Multiple Medications
New research demonstrates that children diagnosed with ADHD at younger ages are more likely than those diagnosed later to receive multiple medications within five years of their diagnosis.
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...
Antipsychotics During Pregnancy Linked to Infant Problems
“Live, healthy babies are the most common outcome following the use of antipsychotic medication in pregnancy,” conclude Australian researchers in a study that was...
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.
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.
WHO Says Newer Antipsychotics Most Costly, Least Effective Strategy
In an analysis of neuropsychiatric conditions in sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia, the World Health Organization found that inpatient treatment of schizophrenia with...
Randomized Controlled Trial Confirms That Antipsychotics Damage the Brain
A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry connects antipsychotics with damage to the brain in multiple areas.
Four Leading Antipsychotics Aren’t Safe or Effective in Older Adults
A 5-year study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and conducted by U.C. San Diego School of Medicine, Stanford University and the...
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,...
In Chronic Patients, Antipsychotics Have Limited Efficacy in Reducing Symptoms
A large review and meta-analysis of 167 studies across 60 years dissects placebo-controlled randomized controlled trials of antipsychotic drugs.
Antipsychotics do not Result in Neurocognitive Improvement
Researchers in London and Spain, in a prospective, randomized, study of long-term (3 year) effects of first- and second-generation antipsychotics on neurocognition in 79...
Relapse in Antipsychotic Drug Trials is Poorly Defined
There is a lack of consensus in the definition of ‘relapse’ across randomized controlled trials of antipsychotic maintenance treatment for schizophrenia and psychosis.
Therapy Without Drugs May Ward Off Psychosis
A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study comparing outcomes from risperidone, cognitive therapy, and supportive therapy in a cohort of 115 at-risk young adults over a...
Abilify Can Worsen Psychosis & Aggression
In a systematic literature review, researchers from Canada and Japan found that the antipsychotic aripiprazole (Abilify) was significantly and causally related to increased increased...
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.
How Exercise Can Help With First Episode Psychosis
New study examines the experiences of people utilizing an exercise program following a first-episode psychosis.
Antipsychotics Not Helpful for Anorexia
A review of all research on the use of antipsychotics for the treatment of anorexia nervosa found no demonstrable efficacy in terms of body...
Psychiatry Defends Its Antipsychotics: A Case Study of Institutional Corruption
Jeffrey LIeberman and colleagues have published a paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry stating that there is no evidence that psychiatric drugs cause long-term harm, and that the evidence shows that these drugs provide a great benefit to patients. A close examination of their review reveals that it is a classic example of institutional corruption, which was meant to protect guild interests.
Inappropriate Use of Antipsychotics on Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
One-third of adults with an intellectual or developmental disability are dispensed antipsychotics, despite having no existing psychiatric diagnosis.
Pharmacology Gets More Cooperation Than Psychosocial Advice
In a study of conformance to evidence-based treatment recommendations at mental health clinics among people diagnosed with schizophrenia, Canadian researchers found that conformance to...
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.
An FDA Whistleblower’s Documents: Commerce, Corruption, and Death
In 2008, a reviewer of psychiatric drugs at the FDA, Ron Kavanagh, complained to Congress that the FDA was approving a new antipsychotic that was ineffective and yet had adverse effects that increased the risk of death. Twelve years later, a review of the whistleblower documents reveal an FDA approval process that can lead to the marketing of drugs sure to harm public health.
Withdrawal from Antipsychotics
A review of the scientific literature related to the withdrawal of antipsychotics: animal studies, withdrawal symptoms, tapering success rates, and consumer accounts of discontinuation.
