MIA News Archives

Prominent researchers conduct a review of antidepressant withdrawal incidence, duration, and severity. Results lead to call for new clinical guidelines.

Findings point to the role of withdrawal symptoms and prescriber practices in long-term antidepressant use.

Researchers review the risks and benefits of deprescribing from antipsychotic drugs and advocate for a patient-centered approach to tapering.

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

New guidelines recommend deprescribing benzodiazepine receptor agonists for adults.

A new study explores how people manage to discontinue antipsychotic medication and examines how social supports may improve outcomes.

The paradox of relieving chronic pain with an antidepressant (and a new set of symptoms).

Researchers find that support and self-care were helpful for users during discontinuation, but that mental health professionals were not very helpful.

Review study compares outcomes of gradual vs. immediate antipsychotic discontinuation when switching from one drug to another.

Study examines racial and ethnic disparities in the quality of care for Medicaid-enrolled children starting ADHD medication.

Study finds that 74% of patients with a psychotic disorder off antipsychotics at end of 10 years are in remission.

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.

A team in the Netherlands is currently investigating the effects of tapering off of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy....

Long-term treatment with antipsychotic drugs is currently considered the standard treatment for patients diagnosed with ‘schizophrenia.’ A new study challenges this practice, however. The...

A new study to be published in the next issue of Schizophrenia Research examines patients suffering from a first-episode of psychosis who stop taking any antipsychotic drugs. The researchers attempt to identify variables that can serve as predictors of the successful discontinuation of antipsychotics. They find, for example, that those who discontinue the drugs have, on average, the same outcomes as those who stay on them, and that those who have better social integration are more likely to discontinue without relapse.

Last year the British Medical Association (BMA) released a report on dependence and withdrawal from prescription drugs including benzodiazepines, z-drugs, opioids, and antidepressants. Now,...

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.

Statistics from the UK reveal that prescriptions for painkillers and antidepressants continue to rise despite concerns over dependence and debilitating withdrawal effects. The British Medical Association (BMA) Board of Science has released a report that acknowledges changes to medical practice, research and policy necessary for addressing the dependence and withdrawal effects of benzodiazepines, opioids, and antidepressants.

The Federal jury hearing the first of 5000 claims against Eli Lilly for hiding the risks of withdrawal symptoms associated with Cymbalta found that Lilly did not...

Calling it “Poison,” plaintiff Claudia Herrera testified she would not have taken Eli Lilly's drug Cymbalta had she known the risks. Lilly hid the risks of...

Careful reductions in dosage levels of antipsychotic medications over time improved long-term rates of recovery and functional remission in patients diagnosed with a first-episode psychosis.

-Forensic psychiatrist Andrew Shepherd reviews a recent study on withdrawal effects from coming off antidepressant drugs.

Researchers found some antipsychotics to be worse than others for causing sexual dysfunction.

Lithium appears to reduce libido and sexual function, and more research into the problem is needed.

Zoloft caused up to six-fold increases in build-up of atherosclerosis plaque in the coronary arteries of monkeys.