Some Common Psychiatric Medications Associated With Pneumonia
Pneumonia cases in the elderly are strongly associated with use of anticholinergic medications, including benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants.
Inappropriate Antipsychotic Prescriptions to Children Keep Increasing
Clinicians are following best practice guidelines only half of the time when giving antipsychotic medications to children, and following FDA-approved indications only one-fourth of the time.
Sleep Aid Melatonin May Not Be Safe for Children
Increasing numbers of children with sleep disorders are being treated with the hormone melatonin, but the medication has not been approved for such use.
Antidepressants Actually Reduce Serotonin Levels
Common scientific beliefs about serotonin levels in depression and how antidepressants act on the brain appear to be completely backwards.
Stopping SSRI Antidepressants Can Cause Long, Intense Withdrawal Problems
In the first systematic review of withdrawal problems that patients experience when trying to get off SSRI antidepressant medications, researchers found that withdrawing from SSRIs was comparable to trying to quit addictive benzodiazepines.
Patients Complain about Antipsychotic Medications Inducing “Zombie-like” State
People who take antipsychotic medications experience many side effects which have "major disruptive impact on their lives," according to research in the Journal of Mental Health Nursing.
Certain Antidepressants, Sleep Aids Associated with Higher Dementia Risk
Greater cumulative doses of drugs that are anticholinergic or block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine are associated with significant increases in dementia and Alzheimer's.
Antipsychotics Again Strongly Linked to Falls and Fractures
Three independent studies in two journals reported strong links between antipsychotics and falls and fractures.
Common Alzheimer’s Drug Linked to Potentially Life-threatening Conditions
A popular Alzheimer's and dementia drug has been linked to two potentially fatal conditions.
Quality of Relationship to Doctor Significantly Improves Antidepressant Efficacy
The more that patients feel that they have a high-quality relationship with their prescribing physician, the more likely that they will regard their own responses to antidepressants as positive.
Evidence Lacking for Antidepressant Safety in Nursing Mothers
A scientific review says we need to know much more about the risks of nursing mothers taking SSRIs.
Smoking Cessation Drug Suspected in 30 Suicides in Canada
The Pfizer drug has also been linked to more than 1,300 incidents of suicide attempts or thoughts, depression, and aggression/anger across the country in the past seven years.
Antidepressants Seem to Increase Heart Disease in the Elderly
Depressed elderly people are more likely to suffer heart disease not because of their depression, but apparently due to antidepressant drugs.
Different Antipsychotics Have Different Effects on Brain Volume
First generation antipsychotics seem to cause general brain volume loss, while second generation antipsychotics seem to both increase and decrease the thickness of different parts of the brain.
Semen Abnormalities Associated with SSRI Antidepressants
The French non-profit organization Prescrire has produced a special report about the impacts of SSRI antidepressants on male fertility.
Lower Education Linked to Higher Antipsychotic Use in Swedish Elderly
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.
More than Half of UK Antipsychotic Prescribing is Not for Authorized Conditions
More than half of the prescriptions for antipsychotic drugs in the UK are being issued "off-label" to treat conditions other than those for which the drugs are approved, according to a large study published in the British Medical Journal Open. Researchers also found significantly higher levels of prescribing of the medications to poorer people.
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.
Government Calls US Benzodiazepine Prescription Levels “Worrisome”
Despite the well-known risks of the drugs, especially for the elderly, prescription use of addictive benzodiazepine sedatives in the United States increases steadily with age, according to a large-scale study published in JAMA Psychiatry. Overall, as of 2008, 5.2% of American adults were taking the drugs. The study also showed that women were twice as likely to be taking benzodiazepines as men. National Institute of Mental Health director Thomas Insel called the findings "worrisome."
Thoughtful Insight, Not Lack of It, Drives Some Patients to Quit Psychiatric Medications
Rather than a "lack of insight," it is actually a thoughtful weighing of complex risks and benefits that ultimately drives some people diagnosed with bipolar disorder to eschew psychiatric medications, according to a qualitative study in the Journal of Affective Disorders. And these people often develop sophisticated strategies in their efforts to manage without medications.
New Form of Mice Experiment Reveals Antidepressant’s Dangers Earlier
Scientists from the University of Utah say they have discovered a new way of doing mice experiments that more sensitively and quickly reveals negative...
Antipsychotic Drug Associated with Potentially Fatal Skin Rash
The US Food and Drug Administration is warning the public that the antipsychotic medication ziprasidone "is associated with a rare but serious skin reaction...
Psychiatrists’ Prescriptions for First-time Psychosis Often Don’t Follow Guidelines
"Many patients with first-episode psychosis receive medications that do not comply with recommended guidelines for first-episode treatment," states a National Institute of Mental Health...
Strong Placebo Response to Antidepressants Forms Even Before Drug Trials Start
A strong placebo response is apparently more often caused by people's expectations coming into a randomized, blinded clinical trial, than it is caused by...
Some Antidepressants Worse than Others for Causing Sexual Dysfunction
In a review of the scientific evidence about sexual dysfunction caused by antidepressants, Australian researchers determined that some of the medications are worse than...
