Science of Psychiatric Drugs

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.

US Food and Drug Administration scientists want to better evaluate side effects of sexual dysfunction associated with antidepressant drugs.

The researchers find that the drug effects for reducing psychosis are small and that treatment failure and severe side effects are common.

Researchers investigate the claim that the introduction of antidepressant drugs led to decreases in suicide rates internationally.

According to the Wall Street Journal's, story on a June study of 4000 Qubequois students, "a growing body of research finds that in the...

“This is remarkable for drugs that are used to treat depressive symptoms,” write the researchers.

Despite guidance that the drugs should only be used short-term, about a third of patients indicated long-term benzo use.

A new study published this week in JAMA Psychiatry indicates that infants are more likely to develop speech or language disorders if they are exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy.

A meta-analysis by researchers from the U.K. finds an association between antidepressant use and a modestly increased risk of diabetes. “Our research shows that...

A new study finds adverse long-term consequences associated with the increased use of antipsychotics in first-episode psychosis.

Researchers from Columbia University and other New York institutions found a dramatically increasing use of antipsychotics to treat ADHD and other behavioral problems in...

People who reduced antipsychotic use by tapering were doing just as well after five years as those who continued using the drugs.

In a review of all 59,233 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia in Sweden between 1965 and 2008, researchers from Sweden and the U.S. identified 6137...

Researchers from Philadelphia and Baltimore find, in a study of Medicaid records for 50 states and the District of Columbia, that antipsychotic prescribing to...

"Even in an academic setting with active discussions among psychiatrists regarding issues of metabolic risk ... baseline lipid monitoring is disappointingly low" according to...

In December, MIA  reported on a systematic Cochrane review on the research for the safety and effectiveness of Ritalin (methylphenidate) that found substantial bias...

Tapering antipsychotics slowly and with supported decision-making may improve care for patients with psychosis.

New research finds that the non-physical aspects of withdrawal from SSRIs are often overlooked.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins test paroxetine on developing brain cells and discover numerous neurotoxic effects.

Researchers at the University of Michigan reviewed published and unpublished trials of serotonin receptor inhibitors (SRI) for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD)....

Previously taking antidepressants could make individuals less likely to respond to treatment for bipolar II depression.

New research published in the August issue of Psychiatric Annals evaluates the results of randomized control trials on the use of various psychotropic drugs for patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Despite the “American Psychiatric Association’s practice guidelines endorsement of SSRIs as first-line therapies for BPD,” the results of the meta-analysis reveal that pharmacotherapy in BPD is “not supported by the current literature,” and “should be avoided whenever possible.”

A new study finds that adding an antipsychotic to existing antidepressant treatment is associated with a 45% increased risk of early death.

There is a lack of consensus in the definition of ‘relapse’ across randomized controlled trials of antipsychotic maintenance treatment for schizophrenia and psychosis.

Leading human subjects ethics researcher questions exploitation of uninsured minorities in experimental drug trials.