News: Schizophrenia and aspirin
Research from the Netherlands suggests aspirin might not just be for headaches anymore. PsychCentral reviewed an article published in the June issue of Journal of Clinical Psychiatry with promising findings. . .
Full Story | Topics: medication, research, schizophrenia | Comments (0)

News: Trial over Seroquel side effects continues

News: Witnesses spar at hearings over anti-depressant -- suicide risks

Consider This: A trial, and an ad, featuring Seroquel
. . .evidence vs. spin
Full Story | Topics: anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, legal, medication, pharmaceutical, psychiatry, schizophrenia, Seroquel | Comments (0)

News: Screening absent for Medicaid patients with psychiatric diagnosis

News: FDA cautions Zyprexa for teens

News: New depression studies raise questions

News: Side effects largely untended

Commentary: From community mental health to substance abuse treatment: bridging treatment cultures

Did You Know: Lithium's effect was discovered accidentally by an Australian doctor experimenting with guinea pigs.
Read more about the process by whiche Dr. John Cade learned that lithium had a calming effect in the laboratory. To test the properties of lithium, Cade used took it himself before giving it to 10 patients on an experimental basis....
Full Story | Topics: bipolar disorder, depression, medication, research | Comments (0)

News: Off label antipsychotic drugs increased at VA

Did You Know: The cost of second generation atypical drugs average $10 a day.
"Off Label Use of Antipsychotic medications in the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System" appears in the September issue of Psychiatric Services. Abstract available....
Full Story | Topics: medication, Veterans Affairs | Comments (0)

News: Depression studies

Consider This: Is talk of rationing a three-dollar bill?
. . .rationing in mental health
Full Story | Topics: Congress, insurance, medication, reform | Comments (0)

News: Safety of atypical antipsychotics
Atypical antipsychotic drugs are used widely beyond the original group of mental disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, for which they were initially approved.
Full Story | Topics: ADHD, adolescents, bipolar disorder, children, elderly, medication, schizophrenia | Comments (0)

Did You Know: Spending on antipsychotic medication reached $13.1 billion in 2007, third highest of all drugs.
Read more about atypical antipsychotic medication in Health Affairs....
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News: ADHD stimulants and cardiac deaths
A first-of-its-kind study about ADHD and stimulants asked whether the medications contributed to the "rare event of sudden unexplained death in children and adolescents." The authors found that 10 of the 564 (1.8 percent) children were taking stimulants for ADHD....
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News: FDA green lights pediatric antipsychotic meds
An FDA review panel approved drugs, saying they met safety standards for treating bipolar and schizophrenia in children. AstraZeneca's Seroquel and Pfizer Inc.'s Geodone were approved; Eli Lilly's Zyprexa was given back-up status should the others fail. All have been the subject of controversial court cases involving allegations of withholding information and dangerous side effects. An FDA report indicates children already account for something between 5 percent and 11 percent of these drugs, bringing the total to five for the...
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News: June in the journals

News: Good news-bad news for AstraZeneca
Between celebrating the Canadian approval of Seroquel to treat major depression, then learning the the Netherlands denied approval for the same, AstraZeneca has had quite a ride. In the courts a similar see-saw is taking place. A judge dismissed a case in Del. charging diabetes was the result of Seroquel This is the third case dismissed, and the only potential jury trial. They have drawn considerable attention and new cases are scheduled in New Jersey and New York. Documents have...
Full Story | Topics: depression, legal, medication, pharmaceutical | Comments (0)

News: Pfizer give away includes psychiatric meds
Medications treating psychiatric disorders are among those Pfizer will offer to people who have lost their jobs or their insurance during this economic downturn. Zoloft, Geodon and Chantix are on the list, along with drugs treating other conditions. According to a press release, eligibility requirements include having taken the medication for at least 3 months prior to unemployment since January 1, absence of insurance coverage and financial hardship. An application is available at a website and must be submitted between...
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News: Medicaid policies limit clinically indicated drugs
The irony of trying to save Medicaid money might well result in more expensive human, medical and social costs, conclude the authors of a study of Medicaid management of medication. Medicaid drug policies, it seems, constrain access to preferred psychiatric drugs and thereby increase the likelihood of emergency room use, hospitalization or homelessness, say the authors of a new study in the May issue of Psychiatric Services. The authors base their conclusions, that drug management is based "based primarily on...
Full Story | Topics: emergency room, health reform, homeless, hospitals, Medicaid, medication | Comments (0)

Consider This: State budget fixes
. . .some will hurt more than others
Full Story | Topics: community programs, depression, hospitals, jails, medication, mental health, politics, states, suicide | Comments (0)

News: Sudden death associated with anti-psychotic drugs
Researchers from Vanderbilt University say the rate of sudden cardiac death is twice as high (29 versus 14 per 10,000) for people taking anti-psychotic medication than for those who aren't. Based on analysis of 15 years of Medicaid data from Tennessee, authors of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) conclude that despite expectations that they differed, first and second generation anti-psychotic drugs have similar, dose-related risks....
Full Story | Topics: chronic illness, medication | Comments (0)

Did You Know: Thorazine was originally intended for use as an anti-histamine.
To read more about the accidental discovery of this, and other drugs used in psychiatry, see Neuron....
Full Story | Topics: medication, pharmaceutical, research | Comments (0)

News: Differences in anti-psychotic drugs
Research supported by NIMH confirms second generation antipsychotic medications are not homogeneous. These findings add to a growing body of literature comparing drugs for efficacy, side-effects and costs. The current study from German researchers appears on-line in The Lancet....
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Commentary: Coming off medications: A harm reduction approach

News: Reactions to Biederman, Goodwin, The Infinite Mind
Reactions to news about psychiatrists who failed to disclose their working relationships with drug companies appeared over the weekend. On the Media aired a segment discussing the relationship between producers of The Infinite Mind and Dr. Fred Goodwin. Producer Bill Lichtenstein replied to the show in an email. Lichtenstein spoke to The Injury Board which posted documents including a copy of Goodwin's contract. "Expert or Shill?" read the New York Times headline on Sunday's editorial page. In a very brief...
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News: Rx for kids: problem with label or doctor?
Despite lack of evidence, label warnings, side effects, and doubts about its efficacy for youngsters under 13, Risperdal and Zyprexa are being prescribed (including off-label use for ADHD) in record numbers for kids. How to change this becamse the subject of an FDA review panel....
Full Story | Topics: ADHD, children, medication | Comments (0)

News: England's new law on forced treatments
iStock PhotoLaws compelling outpatient treatment took effect in England earlier in the week, and the controversy mirrors debates in the US. Proponents argue mandatory treatment reduces hospitalization and promotes public safety while critics oppose coercion and point to considerable side effects. Results inconclusive In the end, reports the Guardian, analysis of 28 studies led experts to conclude, "There is very little evidence to suggest that CTOs [community treatment orders] are associated with any positive outcomes and there is justification for...
Full Story | Topics: civil commitment, health reform, hospitals, human rights, medication | Comments (0)

News: In the journals. . .focus on youth
From the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine: In the 1960s an anti-war poster read, "War is not healthy for children or other living things." A study in the Nov. issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine confirmed this sentiment with a study of 169 families: "Children age 3 and older who had a deployed parent had significantly higher scores on measures of externalizing and overall behavior problems than children of the same age without a deployed parent."...
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News: St. John's wort and depression
iStockFor many years the plant St. John's wort was considered a folk remedy to treat depression. Now an analysis of 29 clinical trials (n=5489) concludes Hypericum perforatum L. performed better than a placebo and as well as standard antidepressants and with fewer side effects. The Cochrane Library report sounded a cautionary note because numerous forms and extractions of Hypericum perforatum L. may not be identical to those in the study. Better study outcomes were also apparent in German-speaking countries where...
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News: Activisits push beds through London
Dressed as patients and orderlies, British activists campaigned for mental health reform while pushing beds through the streets of London on Oct. 10th, World Mental Health Day. They pointed to a 20-fold increase in prescribing antipsychotic medication between 2002 and 2007, and want expanded access to psychological therapies....
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News: FDA lashes Ranbaxy about generic drugs
The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) sent warnings to Ranbaxy, a generic drug company based in India, partially restricting imports of some drugs while it was highly critical of the company's sloppy quality control for others. Redactions in the letters make it impossible to know whether the problems cited apply to the anti-anxiety and anti-depressants Ranbaxy makes. While the FDA was coming down on Ranbaxy, Rep. John Dingell, chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, released a statement asking...
Full Story | Topics: anxiety disorders, depression, FDA, investigation, medication, pharmaceutical | Comments (0)

News: FDA lashes Ranbaxy about generic drugs
The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) sent warnings to Ranbaxy, a generic drug company based in India, partially restricting imports of some drugs while it was highly critical of the company's sloppy quality control for others. Redactions in the letters make it impossible to know whether the problems cited apply to the anti-anxiety and anti-depressants Ranbaxy makes. While the FDA was coming down on Ranbaxy, Rep. John Dingell, chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, released a statement asking...
Full Story | Topics: anxiety disorders, depression, FDA, investigation, medication, pharmaceutical | Comments (0)

News: Psychiatrist explains brain research
In an interview with the New York Times, Dr. Nancy Andreasen discusses 30 years of research about the brain, including normal function, changes due to age, and mental illness and medication...
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News: New drugs more costly, more side effects, not better
The newer classification of drugs (Zyprexa, Risperdal, Geodone) commonly prescribed for schizophrenia, as well as bipolar disorders and behavioral management for children and teenagers have been found to be no more effective than the older drugs, according to an article published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Studies of adults have led to similar findings which could challenge the record profits of drug companies that have recently obtained additional applications for treating children. Bloomberg.com reports that generics are already denting...
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News: New drugs more costly, more side effects, not better
The newer classification of drugs (Zyprexa, Risperdal, Geodone) commonly prescribed for schizophrenia, as well as bipolar disorders and behavioral management for children and teenagers have been found to be no more effective than the older drugs, according to an article published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Studies of adults have led to similar findings which could challenge the record profits of drug companies that have recently obtained additional applications for treating children. Bloomberg.com reports that generics are already denting...
Full Story | Topics: drug trials, medication, pharmaceutical, research, Zyprexa | Comments (0)

From Our Readers: Peer-support groups release medication guide
Will Hall writes that peer-run support groups, Freedom Center and the Icarus Project, recently released a 40-page guide, the Harm Reduction Guide to Coming off Medications. Hall notes that he wrote the guide, with a 14-member health professional Advisory Board providing research assistance and 24 other collaborators involved in developing and editing. Editorial advisors include David Cohen, Daniel Fisher, Rufus May, and Joanna Moncrieff, MD. You can download and free copy at: http://theicarusproject.net/HarmReductionGuideComingOffPsychDrugs...
Full Story | Topics: consumers, medication | Comments (1)

From Our Readers: Peer-support groups release medication guide
Will Hall writes that peer-run support groups, Freedom Center and the Icarus Project, recently released a 40-page guide, the Harm Reduction Guide to Coming off Medications. Hall notes that he wrote the guide, with a 14-member health professional Advisory Board providing research assistance and 24 other collaborators involved in developing and editing. Editorial advisors include David Cohen, Daniel Fisher, Rufus May, and Joanna Moncrieff, MD. You can download and free copy at: http://theicarusproject.net/HarmReductionGuideComingOffPsychDrugs...
Full Story | Topics: consumers, medication | Comments (1)

News: Zyprexa documents unsealed
The judge in last year's law suit over Eli Lilly's drug Zyprexa ordered the documents unsealed in what he termed a class-action law suit. According to the New York Times, Judge Jack B. Weinstein weighed Lilly's rights to privacy against the public's right to know how the drug was marketed and approved. A New York Times reporter was reprimanded last year after writing about company decisions based on documents that eventually were circulated widely on the internet. Weinstein's actions followed...
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News: Seroquel update from FDA
Seroquel appears on the FDA's list of drugs with serious risks that were compiled by the Adverse Event Report System between Jan-March 2008. The FDA warning attributed labeling confusion on sample packs to overdoses. Seroquel is made by AstraZeneca and is a mood stabilizer prescribed for bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia....
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News: Antidepressants fall through "doughnut hole"
An analysis of the impact of the "doughnut hole" for seniors with Medicare Part D with chronic illnesses found that "45% of patients on antidepressants reached the coverage gap in 2007." The study is available from the Kaiser Family Foundation....
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Book Reviews: "Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry is Medicating a Nation," Charles Barber
by Alison Bateman-House* Charles Barber's latest book, Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry is Medicating a Nation (Pantheon Books), is a passionate, multi-pronged critique of the state of psychiatry in the United States. Barber takes as his starting point his fourteen years working with the mentally ill homeless in New York City. In positions ranging from a counselor to a senior social services administrator, he worked on the streets, in shelters, and in supportive residential programs with clients who were dealing with...
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News: Katrina damage lingers
A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that three years after Katrina, rates of depression have increased, and those taking prescription medicine for mental health problems rose from 8 to 17 percent since 2006. The full report is available....
Full Story | Topics: depression, disaster, medication | Comments (0)

News: Psychotherapy more expensive
Psychiatrists are likely to spend more of their time in tasks relating to medication management than in talking to patients, say authors of a study appearing in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Fewer than 30% of all visits to psychiatrists between 2004-2006 included psychotherapy, and patients who did receive this were more likely to be white than they were black or Hispanic. Financing may explain the shift and disparities. Reimbursement rates are higher for three 15-minute sessions managing medication than...
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News: Drugs in pipeline
PhRMA, the pharmaceutical marketing and research trade association, announced a list of drugs in varying stages of development for treating psychiatric disorders. Although the announcement specifies 301 drugs, the number of new agents is actually less. Many of the drugs, including Zyprexa, Concerta, Zoloft, Seroquel, are already available but the clinical studies and applications are pending for new uses. The 32-page report is available from PhRMA....
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News: Viagra for women?
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) indicates Viagra may ease sexual dysfunction, a side effect for women taking SSRI anti-depressants. The study was conducted over three years, and employed numerous outcome measures including interviews, blood tests, and rating scales. The 8-week placebo-controlled clinical trial (N=98) was financed by Pfizer, according to the federal clinical trial registry. Of the six collaborators, including the lead author Dr. George Nurnberg, only one did not receive outside consulting...
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News: Ritalin prescriptions in United Kingdom
British differences in prescribing Ritalin for ADHD have been called "dramatic" and "extraordinary." In some districts, 14 percent of the children are receiving the drug for problems associated with attention deficit behaviors. It is unclear whether the highly variable prescribing rates stem from over use in some districts or under use in others, but the difference between the highest and the lowest districts is 23 fold....
Full Story | Topics: ADHD, children, diagnosis, medication | Comments (0)

Consider This: When disclosure isn't enough
Pharma, the APA, and the media
Full Story | Topics: education, ethics, medication, pharmaceutical | Comments (0)

News: Growth in antipsychotic meds for kids
A British study reported in Pediatrics indicates a hike in prescribing atypical anti-psychotic medication for kids “despite the lack of conclusive evidence showing their superiority over older conventional antipsychotics.” About six times as many American children take antipsychotic medication, according to the Associated Press. Recent research indicates conditions for which they are being used, including bipolar disorder, might be over diagnosed....
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Consider This: About the APA
Highlights. . .
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Consider This: What's in an FDA approval
FDA approval, watchdogs and court cases: what this means for you
Full Story | Topics: depression, FDA, legal, medication, Zyprexa | Comments (0)

News: Antipsychotics harm dementia patients
Members of Parliament are urging a new policy halting the practice of prescribing psychotropic medicine to nursing home patients with dementia, reports the BBC. A recent study indicated that 70 percent of the prescriptions were inappropriate. When used for patients with dementia, the drugs were associated with rapid deterioration including a loss of verbal skills....
Full Story | Topics: elderly, medication | Comments (0)

Commentary: Access to care: training consumers and case managers
by Jack Carney

Ignoring the side effects of antipsychotic drugs has led to metabolic syndrome and chronic illnesses known to shorten life expectancy. Yet, this can be addressed by helping consumers and case managers learn how to identify the symptoms and to seek medical care This is the guiding principle of a project Jack Carney, program director of a social service agency, describes in "Access to care: training consumers and case managers."
Full Story | Topics: community programs, consumers, medication, treatment programs | Comments (2)

Commentary: Race, genetics, metabolism: drug therapy and clinical trials
by L. DiAnne Bradford

Genes influence how drugs are metabolized. Yet most clinical drug trials are conducted on Caucasians, with little study of Asians and African Americans. Noted psychopharmacologist, Dr. DiAnne Bradford, writes about the impact of these genetic differences for drug therapies.
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News: Barriers to meds for elderly
Two studies in the April issue of Psychiatric Services discuss barriers for the elderly taking psychiatric medicines in Canada and the United States. One article, an NIMH-funded study of co-pays in British Columbia between 1997 and 2005, found that copays delayed seniors from obtaining antidepressant medicines. Another study discussed the United States, and the implications of excluding the anti-anxiety benzodiazepines from Medicare Part D....
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News: Alasks settles Zyprexa case
Eli Lilly has agreed to a $15 million settlement with Alaska over the drug Zyprexa, used a drug to treat schizohprenia and bipolar disorder. The settlement ended a jury trial which began March 6 in Anchorage Superior Court, in which Alaska asked for $270 million for the drug used in its Medicaid program. Reuters reports that Conn. brought a similar law suit on March 11. The company has paid out more than $1.2 billion to settle 30,000 individual law suits....
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News: Iowa reviews Medicaid meds
The Iowa legislature is reviewing its Medicaid preferred drug list for psychiatric drugs as a budgetary measure estimated to trim $1.7 million from an overall medication budget of $234 million. Advocates expressed alarm should a one-size-fits-all policy, requiring prior authorization and generic substitutes, become the mandate where fine tuning is necessary....
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News: Fiscal woes confusing states
Threatened federal cuts and an economic downturn are stressing states already coping with mounting health related expenses. Yesterday New Jersey's governor announced intentions to expand insurance coverage, similar to Mass., but others are scaling back. And some, such as Ohio, remain resolute that the federal government was not entitled to deny them expansion of programs such as SCHIP at the same time plans are underway to close a mental health facility and save $9 million. In New York, according to...
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News: Schizophrenia studies
The March issue of Psychiatric Services (subscription required) focuses on schizophrenia, including research on antipsychotic drugs, the responsibilities of siblings who increasingly fill a void left by parents, and for the over-55 group which is expected to double in the next twenty years....
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News: Zyprexa off-label
Off-label use of Zyprexa to treat disruptive children or address pain was aired in an Anchorage courtroom last week. A previously undisclosed 2003 memo from John C. Lechleiter, who will become CEO in April, said “to seize the opportunity to expand our work with Zyprexa” by using the door it had opened with pediatricians about another medication. The company says it was only trying to respond to physician interest. Alaska is suing Eli Lilly to recoup Medicaid costs for treating...
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News: Massage replaces medication in elderly
The Wall Street Journal reports that a nursing home for retired Roman Catholic nuns has been able to dramatically cut dispensing antipsychotic medication, often overly prescribed to calm elderly patients, by hiring a massage therapist....
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News: Zyprexa trial in Alaska
Alaska is the first of nine states to sue Eli Lilly, manufacturer of Zyprexa, in a case that has wide ranging implications. Allegations that the company hid information about adverse side effects, such as weight gain leading to diabetes and cardiac complications, have already led to individual settlements of $1 billion. The Alaska case opens a different door. It is the first to have a jury trial, and asks the company to be liable for state Medicaid expenses for people...
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News: Elderly overdosed
The Hartford Courant reports that Connecticut is one of the top four states dispensing antipsychotic medication to elderly nursing home patients having no psychiatric histories....
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News: Zyprexa settlement rumored
Pharma giant Eli Lilly, maker of Zyprexa, is said to be in conversation with the federal government to pay $1 billion to settle charges over its promotional activities, reports the New York Times. Zyprexa is the company's block buster drug for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and last year accounted for $4.8 billion in sales, about one-quarter of Lilly’s revenue. In the past two years, the company has been hit by more than 25,000 claims for failure to warn about serious...
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News: FDA's effectiveness questioned
A House subcommittee voted to subpoena former FDA officials to answer questions about fraudulent clinical data used to approve Ketek, an antibiotic with life-threatening complications including liver failure. The subpoena came at the end of a day when witness after witness testified that the FDA has fallen short of its oversight responsibilities to regulate and monitor food, drugs and medical devices. An outdated system of information technology, and budgetary constraints were among the factors enumerated by witnesses before the Subcommittee...
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News: Price tags for care
Americans spent $56 billion for treating mental disorders (including depression) in 2005, making it the fourth most costly of the nation’s medical expenses. When traumatic disorders are added – PTSD, anxiety or panic attacks—it brings the total to $128 billion. The full report is available online at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality....
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News: FDA changes review policy
The New York Times reports an unannounced shift in FDA policy acknowledging that many drugs carry risks for psychiatric side effects. A questionnaire designed to measure suicidal thoughts, and developed by Columbia University's researcher Kelly L. Posner, led to the agency's reassessment....
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News: Publication bias for antidepressants
The selection of articles reaching print might overstate the benefit of antidepressants, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The authors examined clinical studies of 12 antidepressants, involving 12,564 patients, registered with the FDA and concluded that most published studies showed positive results. But one-third of the clinical studies showing that the agent was no better than a placebo were not published. Selective reporting of clinical trials which emphasize only the benefits, “may have adverse...
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Consider This: FDA's "no comment"
by Phyllis Vine



Despite complaints over several months about side effects when substituting Budeprion XL 300, a generic antidepressant for the branded Wellbutrin 300 XL, the FDA has taken no steps to alert consumers or physicians.


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News: Seniors pay more for Zoloft
Seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D will pay $369 more for five medications, including Zoloft, according to a study conducted by Consumers Union. Roughly 75 percent of the private insurance plans in Medicare Part D announced hikes for the coming year. Another study released this week, from Annals of Internal Medicine, examined a single pharmacy chain. Results from this national pharmacy indicate out-of-pocket costs had dropped and utilization had increased. Currently, Medicare is prevented from negotiating over price, which Rep....
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News: Treating kids for bi-polar
Public Broadcasting System's FRONTLINE explores the complexities and uncertainties facing parents who turn to medication when their children are diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. The hour-long film, The Medicated Child, tells the story of three youngsters, their families and how they are living with the decisions they made. Interviews conducted for the broadcast, and questions about bi-polar disorder, are also available....
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News: Wrong Rx
The New York Times reports about an article in Lancet noting that antipsychotic medication has been overused to treat aggression in people with intellectual disabilities....
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News: Medicaid screening for kids
Controversy in Mass. is flaring over policies to screen kids on Medicaid for psychiatric disorders. Brought on by a law suit resulting in an expansion of Medicaid services, some worry that pediatricians screening for anxiety disorders, ADHD, depression, and other disorders, leads to over use of medications for young children. The debate falls within a larger issue of medicating children, and then of medicating foster children. From Oregon to New York to Florida there are reports that foster children are...
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News: Genes, race, medication
An NIMH-funded study (appearing in January issue of Biological Psychiatry) reports variations on the same gene, RGS4, have highly predictive values for response to antipsychotic medication, and that they are associated with ethnic differences. Groups were categorized by those with African, European, or “other” backgrounds, and some medication worked well with one group and not at all with another. The sample (n=678) was exposed to five different medications....
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News: Rogue pharmacies
With the cost of medicine skyrocketing, and internet pharmaceutical sales growing, consumers need to make sure they are getting what they need and have paid for. A report from PharmacyChecker.com lists 36 rogue pharmacies where there have been problems in tracking, verifying or confirming the accuracy of a prescription. Some of the on-line pharmacies have been accused of sending the wrong or even fake drugs. A list of websites of rogue pharmacies was posted today at Pharmacy.com....
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News: Dosing elders with antipsychotic meds
Using off-label antipsychotic medication, known for their sedating qualities, to inappropriately quiet elderly patients is coming under fire by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. Roughly one in five of the elderly patients who are being given these medications have no known psychotic condition. In an unrelated story, 54 nursing homes were cited for poor performance by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services....
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News: Doctors repping for pharma
What is the cost of paying doctors to speak on behalf of a specific medicine? Psychiatrist Daniel Carlat discusses how he was recruited, and why he stopped lecturing about the antidepressant Effexor XR for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Carlat tells this story in "Dr. Drug Rep," published in the New York Times Sunday Magazine....
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News: Open enrollment for Medicare Part D
With six weeks of an open enrollment period to make changes in Medicare Part D coverage beginning Nov. 15, the Kaiser Family Foundation examined 1824 stand alone plans and estimates that premiums are likely to increase an average of 17 percent (for those staying in the same plan), with the top three plans averaging 27 percent. Seniors, and those who advise them, might take note of the October issue of Psychiatric Services which says restrictions in some drug plans under...
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Consider This: Generic antidepressant not equal to patented product
A generic antidepressant has different action and side effects.


Full Story | Topics: depression, FDA, medication, pharmaceutical | Comments (1)

News: Specifying care for an emergency
The Infinite Mind rebroadcast "An Educated Consumer," which originally aired in 2005, discussing Psychiatric Advance Directives (PAD). PADs are legal documents directing treatment teams what to do when it is impossible for a consumer to convey his or her wishes. They can address symptomatic behavior, or which medications work along with those to be avoided. PADs also name who may visit, or speak with a physician, what interventions (ECT, for example) should be employed or avoided. Consumers, family and...
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News: Heart disease killing people with mental illness
An editorial in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) sounds a wake up call to the medical community to address the shortened life span of untreated cardiovascular disease for people with a mental illness. On average their life-span is 25 years shorter, and the authors go beyond explaining this disparity with diet and smoking (people with mental illness consume about half of the cigarettes sold in the United States). They urge psychiatrists to begin monitoring cholesterol, blood pressure, and...
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News: Individually tailored follow-up
Schizophrenia Bulletin (advance online, requires subscription) reports a promising study (N=95) from Austin, Texas, indicating “individually tailored environmental support” was most likely to improve functional outcomes and medication adherence, although statistically significant differences diminished at six months....
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News: Inspector General scores FDA
A report issued (9.28) by the Office of Inspector General concludes that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides insufficient oversight for monitoring clinical trials of medicine and medical devices coming to market. The report states, "FDA’s guidance and regulations for clinical trials have fallen behind industry practices." Those practices now include multi-site trials (averaging 23 sites per trial), with roughly 20 to 25 percent of them outside the United States. In addition, the FDA was able to inspect less...
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News: Haldol relabeled
The FDA issued an alert that the intravenous administration of haloperidol, which is often used off-label to control agitation, can lead to sudden cardiac death. Johnson and Johnson supplied information to the agency from a post-marketing analysis requested by Italy's Drug Agency. The pharmaceutical company has updated its label with detailed warnings....
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News: Assessment of cardiac risks from ADHD meds
Researchers will begin looking at 500,000 clinical records to evaluate the cardiac risks of ADHD medications for children and adults. The federally supported project partners Vanderbilt University with government agencies and private health systems. About $1.3 billion was spent in 2004 on medicine for ADHD, which is estimated to affect about four percent of the population....
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News: FDA approves pediatric antipsychotic
Following double-blind controlled trials, the FDA approved Risperidal for pediatric use in two conditions, schizophrenia (ages 13-17), and bipolar disorders (ages 10-17). It was approved in 1992 to treat adults with schizophrenia....
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News: FDA will review Abilify for depression
Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co. announced that the FDA agreed to a priority review of Abilify for treating depression. The drug was approved for treating schiziophrenia in 2002, for bipolar in 2004, and an oral solution hit the market in 2005. Priority review shrinks the process to six months....
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News: Number 1 Rx in America: antidepressants
CNN, July 9, 2007 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the use of antidepressants tripled between 1988 and 2000. By 2005 they were the most often prescribed drug in America. It's not clear what's driving the surge -- better diagnosis, pharma marketing, or consumer demand....
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News: Overmedicated and undertreated in prisons
Times Argus reports that in the Vermont correctional system, 46 percent of the prisoners receive antipsychotic medication; in some prisons the number being medicated exceeds those diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. "If they're warehousing them in segregation and just giving them pills to quiet them down, that's not treatment," said psychiatrist Dr. Terry Kupers. The practice exists elsewhere, but not to the same degree as found in Vermont....
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News: Study says adult suicide attempts precede antidepressants
American Journal of Psychiatry, July 2007 abstract $$ A large (N=226,866) looking at the relationship between antidepressants and adult suicide attempts concludes, "Suicide attempt rates were lower among patients who were treated with antidepressants than among those who were not." Researchers found suicide attempts highest "in the month before starting treatment, next highest in the month after starting treatment, and declining thereafter." The study was conducted through the Vetarans' Administration on people who were diagnosed with depression in 2003-04....
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News: Medicare trade-offs
L.A. Times, June 24, 2007 After a drug benefit was added to Medicare with insufficient funding in 2003, numerous proposals have come forth regarding its solvency. Recommendations now facing lawmakers and voters include: changing the age of eligibility for Medicare; ending the more costly, private Medicare Advantage; tweaking the plan to require pre-approval for surgical procedures; and restricting access to drugs. Last week NIMH announced funding for a two-year study to determine “the costs and benefits of excluding a commonly...
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News: Debate continues over antipsychotics for kids
Last year's death of a four year-old in Boston, and concern over efficacy, have created a backlash about treating young children with atypical anti-psychotics. Sunday's Boston Globe report how child psychiatrists are lining up in the debate. In Mass., the number of children under the age of 18 who are receiving the most commonly prescribed drugs (Zyprexa, Risperdal, and Seroquel) increased 25 percent over a four year period ending in 2006....
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News: FDA stops obesity drug
Citing safety factors, the FDA rejected a drug called Zimulti used to fight hunger. Side effects included risk factors for depression, phobias, PTSD and suicidal thoughts....
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News: Analysis of bipolar meds
The June issue of Bipolar Disorder contains an article reviewing 154 randomized studies of mood stabilizers and antipsychotics used in the maintenance phase of bipolar disorder....
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Links: Children and Youth
These organizations explicitly address children's concerns as they relate to diagnosis, education, statistical prevalence, and medication. Updated 10.03.07
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Links: Find Help
New visitors will find useful resources for narrowing a search or for general information. Updated 11.02.07.
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News: Seniors pay more under Medicare Part D
A study released by Families USA shows that drug prices under Medicare Part D grew substantially faster than inflation, and more than claims made by the Bush administration. For the antidepressant Lexepro (10 mg), the price increased to $812.16 from $706.20, or 15 percent. This comes on the same day Senate Republicans held tight preventing the vote on a bill requiring Medicare to negotiate over prices....
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News: JAMA reviews studies of pediatric antidepressants
According to an article in JAMA, a review of 27 pediatric trials (including major depression, OCD and other anxiety disorders) showed selected benefits of antidepressants appear to outweigh risks of suicide attempts. Variations occurred depending on age, severity, and study characteristics. This follow recent news that prescriptions for antidepressants declined after revisions in FDA labeling and media coverage of suicide attempts....
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News: Lithium appears to drop suicide rates
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry has published an article based on a McLean Hospital study (N=329) analyzing patterns of suicide attempts of people with depression or bipolar disorder. Those being treated with lithium showed substantial (88.5 percent) reductions in risk....
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News: Medication choices for treating bipolar
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study (N=366) appearing in the on-line New England Journal of Medicine reports that, as an adjunct to mood stabilizers, anti-depressants added no more benefit than a placebo to people diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Work was conducted by a consortium of medical schools in the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD), sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health....
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News: Histamine receptor mediates weight gain from anti-psychotic medicines
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has published a report from researchers at The Johns Hopkins University identifying the histamine receptor responsible for drug induced weight gain for people taking atypical antipsychotic medications. This is a step closer to stemming the metabolic syndrome leading to weight gain, diabetes and cardiovascular complications....
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News: Insurance co-pay mediates access to psychotropic meds
A study from Brandeis University published in Clinical Therapeutics shows how insurance health plans maintain cost control to manage access to psychotropic drug choices....
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News: FDA and ADHD drugs
The FDA has asked the makers of ADHD drugs to develop more comprehensive guidelines about their products including adverse reactions, new symptoms, and possible cardiovascular risks. These recommendations aim to simplify the language and presentation for commonly prescribed medicines such as Ritalin, Adderall, and Daytrana among others....
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News: Metabolism and genes important to drug mechanisms
The way anti-psychotic drugs work in individuals with mental illness involves a person’s metabolic and genetic profile. This article, exerpted in Medscape from Current Opinion in Psychiatry and aimed for clinicians, outlines some of those variations along with research possibilities....
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News: AstraZeneca faces law suits similar to Eli Lilly’s
Bloomberg News reports that British pharmaceutical, AstraZeneca, maker of blockbuster Seroquel, faces lawsuits from 10,000 people alleging that the medicine caused weight gain leading to the risk of diabetes. Competitor Eli Lilly has been entangled in a similar charge over its drug Zyprexa. Last year Seroquel passed Zyprexa as the top selling atypical antipsychotic on the market, earning $3.4 billion, up from $66 million in 1998. As an explanation for the dramatic increase in market share, patients cited “aggressive marketing”...
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