Only One of Five Key Xanax Trials Deemed Positive by F.D.A.
The published literature is misleading, as the negative Xanax trials either went unpublished or were spun to appear positive.
Preventing Long-term Benzodiazepine Use
Researchers Identify risk factors for long-term benzodiazepine use to prevent harmful effects.
Psychiatrists Warn Policymakers Benzodiazepine Overuse Could Lead to Next Epidemic
Although opioid addiction and overuse have garnered significant national attention, similar trends in benzodiazepine overprescription and overuse continue to go unnoticed.
Hypnotic Medications Linked to Suicide Risk
A recent review found that hypnotic medications are associated with risks of suicide and suicidal ideation.
Bereaved Parents Prescribed Meds Quickly, Stay on Meds Long-Term
MiA blogger Jeffrey Lacasse's study of psychiatric prescribing in response to perinatal/neonatal death (co-authored with Joanne Cacciatore) finds that 37% of participants in an...
Is Long-term Use of Benzodiazepines a Risk for Cancer?
A large study of the population in Taiwan reveals that long-term use of benzodiazepine drugs, commonly prescribed for anxiety, significantly increases the risk for brain, colorectal, and lung cancers. The research, published open-access in the journal Medicine, also identifies the types of benzodiazepines that carry the greatest cancer risk.
Benzodiazepines Linked to Suicide, Study Finds
A new study finds that benzodiazepinesâalprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), and diazepam (Valium)âare associated with an increased risk of suicidal events.
Anxiety Medication Associated With Significant Increase in Mortality Long-Term
A study of data from over 11 million patient records in the General Practice Research Database, "the largest anonymized, longitudinal primary care database in...
Withdrawal from Benzodiazepines
A review of the scientific literature related to withdrawal from benzodiazepines, including studies of protracted withdrawal symptoms and risk of relapse related to tapering procedures.
Multiple Medications Associated With Poorer Outcomes
Research from Germany finds that people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective diagnoses given multiple medications - an antipsychotic plus a benzodiazepine or more than one...
Fish “Flourish” On Anxiety Drug
"Fish that have been exposed to a common anti-anxiety drug are more active and have better chances of survival than unexposed fish," reports Nature....
Prescribing Benzodiazepines As-Needed Leads to Abuse
A new study reported on in Medscape, examined risk factors for misuse of benzodiazepines (drugs such as Xanax, Ativan, and Klonopin). The researchers found that patients who had been prescribed the medication on an as-needed basis were more likely to end up abusing it than those who had been prescribed a standing dose.
Psych Drugs May Increase Likelihood of Death in Schizophrenia
The drugs, especially benzos and high doses of antipsychotics, led to an increased risk of death within five years. Antidepressants also did not reduce mortality.
What Helps Long-Term Users of Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs Discontinue?
Current long-term users of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs identify barriers and facilitators for discontinuation.
Benzos & Brain Tumors
Researchers in Taiwan found a 3.33x greater risk of benign brain tumors in patients who had been prescribed benzodiazepines for at least 2 months....
Benzodiazepines Linked to Treatment Resistant Depression
Prior use of benzodiazepines, such as Xanax, Librium, or Ativan, may increase the risk of treatment-resistant depression (TRD), according to a new study published in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.
Long-Term Benzos Worsen Anxiety
Long-term use of benzodiazepines for anxiety remains a widespread, despite guidelines that recommend against it, according to a roundtable discussion at the annual conference of...
No Support for Antidepressants Over Benzodiazepines for Anxiety
A review of all the relevant research comparing benzodiazepines (BDZ) to antidepressants (AD) for the treatment of anxiety was published Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics this Friday....
Benzos May Increase Cancer Risk
Researchers in Taiwan found in a retrospective analysis of data from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance system concerning 59,647 patients from 1996 to 2000 that...
Antidepressants Tied To Increased Risk of Homicide “Only Modestly”; Benzodiazepines More So
Taking antidepressant or benzodiazepine medications increases the risks that a person will commit a homicide, according to a study from Finland published in a World Psychiatry letter.
Psychotropics Significantly Increase Falls in the Elderly
Psychotropic medications, including short-acting benzodiazepines, strongly increase the frequency of falls in the elderly, according to research from the Netherlands published in Maturitas: The...
Research Explores the Experience of Benzodiazepine Withdrawal
A new study reveals many benzodiazepine users are misinformed about the risks of withdrawal and experience devastating consequences.
Benzodiazepine & SSRI Addiction and Withdrawal
The May issue of Addiction includes a review of pharmacological and phenomenological issues around benzodiazepine (BZD) and SSRI discontinuation.  Definitions, perceptions and management of the...
Still Mistreating the Elderly with Psychiatric Drugs: Benzodiazepines
Despite safety concerns, a new study reveals that there has been no change in the use of benzodiazepines in the elderly from 2001 to 2010.
Benzodiazepines Associated With 3.5x Greater Dementia Risk
Researchers in the U.K. find in a 22-year prospective study of 1134 men, 103 of whom took benzodiazepines regularly for one or more period...
