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.
Many Teens Start Misusing Stimulants By Age 13
An equal percentage of young people will start misusing ADHD-related and other stimulant drugs for the first time at age 13 as will start at age 20.
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....
Prenatal Prozac Alters Stress Response in Male Rats
Researchers from Belgium and the Netherlands, publishing online June 20 in Neuroscience, found that prenatal fluoxetine (Prozac) differentially affected the development of glucocorticoid receptors...
Discussing The Meaning of Antipsychotics
Research published in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice finds that a "shared discussion of beliefs about medication between patient and care provider allows wider...
Paxil Boosts Estrogen, May Promote Breast Cancer Growth
A trial of a new process of identifying drugs that can disrupt sex hormones singled out Paxil from 446 common drugs as having a weak...
Scant Evidence for Combining Antipsychotics
Researchers in Barcelona, Spain retrospectively reviewed the use of antipsychotics in 117,811 patients, of whom 9,855 were given combinations of antipsychotics and 13,763 were...
Elderly With Dementia can be Withdrawn From Antipsychotics
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Cochrane Library reports that "many older people with Alzheimer's dementia and NPS (neuropsychiatric symptoms) can be withdrawn from chronic antipsychotic medication without detrimental effects...
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.
Study Reduces Over-prescription of Antipsychotics in Older Adults
New intervention shows promise in reducing over-prescription of off-label antipsychotics in older adults.
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.
Baseline Lipid Monitoring with Antipsychotics “Disappointingly Low”
"Even in an academic setting with active discussions among psychiatrists regarding issues of metabolic risk ... baseline lipid monitoring is disappointingly low" according to...
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.
Increased Risk of Heart Defects with SSRIs
Danish research found a significantly increased risk of congenital heart defects in both the 4,183 pregnancies exposed to SSRIs throughout the first trimester and the...
No Advantage for Second-Generation Antipsychotics
In a study of 720 consecutive hospital admissions in a specific catchment area from 1991 to 2005, researchers found that there was no difference...
Reanalysis of Data Shows Antidepressant Impacts on Depression “Not Clinically Significant”
Irving Kirsch and Joanna Moncrieff have reanalyzed the clinical trial data on antidepressants.
Amsterdam Files New Study 352 Whistleblower Complaint
Jay Amsterdam, who first blew the whistle on corrupt research practices in a study conducted by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) eight years ago, has now submitted...
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.
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...
New Algorithms Fail to Predict Antidepressant Treatment Outcomes
Researchers suggest that because most antidepressant “success” is due to the placebo effect, they may never find a way to predict outcomes.
Opioid Use in Pregnancy Dangerous and Understudied
Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), authored an editorial for BMJ this month warning that the opioid abuse epidemic could have dangerous consequences for pregnant women. While the effects of opioid exposure on the developing brain are yet unknown, research suggests that infants may suffer from withdrawal syndrome, nervous system defects, and impaired attachment with the mother.
Antipsychotics Rise in Youth, But Hospitalization Rates Stay the Same
Researchers from Tufts and Harvard find in a review of 233 medical charts of psychiatrically hospitalized youth at three points in time (1991, 1998...
Cumulative Risk of Impairment and Death From Anticholinergic Medication
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...
ADHD Drugs Linked to Prolonged, Painful Erections
FDA regulators have updated the warning labels on methylphenidate products such as Ritalin, Focalin and Concerta to reflect reports of prolonged, painful erections (priapism)...
11% of U.S. on Antidepressants: Less than 1/2 See a Mental Health Professional
Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2005-2008) show that 11% of Americans 12 and over take antidepressants. 60% of those have...
