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Antipsychotic Articles

The Atypical Antipsychotic War

Monday, April 14th, 2008

Robert Farley of the St. Petersburg Times had an excellent in-depth piece about the war to increase prescriptions of atypical antipsychotics in America. I say “war,” because it really seems like there was a concerted, although perhaps not coordinated, effort to change the thinking about the best course of treatment for people with disorders like […]

Therapy with Animals: Not Just a Cats and Dogs Game

Sunday, April 13th, 2008

If you suffer from a mental disorder maybe you’d feel more at ease at home — home on the range. At least that’s what a new study out of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences supports.
To assess the benefits of Green care, the researchers asked ninety patients (59 women and 31 men) with […]

Study Suggests Antipsychotics Don’t Help People with Dementia, Alzheimer’s

Friday, April 4th, 2008

Powerful antipsychotic medications have commonly been prescribed to people with Alzheimer’s disease and other serious cognitive dementias found amongst the elderly population, especially if they are in a nursing home or hospital environment. Why?

Almost all older dementia patients will experience, along with the cognitive and functional decline typical of the illness, some neuropsychiatric symptoms. These […]

Prior Authorization: The Bane of Doctors

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

Ahh, prior authorization. Those sweet, seductive words that insurance companies lull themselves to sleep at night with dollar signs jumping over a fence in a pasture.
“Prior authorization” means that a doctor can’t prescribe a particular medication (or type of medication) without — you guessed it! — prior authorization from the insurance company. This usually […]

Alaska settles for $15 million from Lilly in Zyprexa suit

Sunday, March 30th, 2008

For several weeks, the state of Alaska has been battling the maker of Zyprexa, Lilly, for Medicaid bills incurred when patients taking the drug for Schizophrenia developed diabetes. The NY Times reported on Friday that the $15 million is only “a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars in damages that Ed Sniffen, […]

Medicating People Because It’s Easier than Talking to Them

Friday, January 11th, 2008

As we reported last week (as did others), antipsychotics are not really a good treatment option for aggressive behavior, based upon the findings from a recently published study in the journal Lancet. Which begs the question: When were they ever?
Sadly, antipsychotics are not the first medications ever to be used to basically sedate people, so […]

Meds Proven Ineffective for Aggression in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Friday, January 4th, 2008

Despite their widespread use amongst doctors who treat adults with developmental disabilities and mental retardation, a new study has found that a specific type of psychiatric medication — antipsychotics — to be ineffective in helping reduce these individuals’ aggressive behavior. Antipsychotics are generally not FDA-approved for the treatment of aggressive behavior, this has simply been […]

Antipsychotic Abuse in Nursing Homes?

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007

It’s a complicated story and one that I don’t think the Wall Street Journal really told all that well.
Their premise is simple — that antipsychotic medications, especially newer ones, are being over-prescribed in nursing homes. It starts off noting how many people in a nursing home are being prescribed antipsychotics (30%, which is an amazing […]

Janssen and J&J Sued by Arkansas

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

The Arkansas attorney general has filed a lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals and its parent company, J&J, over numerous allegations regarding its strong-selling Risperdal drug, one of a new class of drugs called atypical antipsychotics. It is commonly prescribed to treat bipolar disorder.
The allegations? According to Furious Seasons and CL Psych’s take, the lawsuit includes allegations […]

Self -help with YouTube

Sunday, November 11th, 2007

I have the same routine every week to find interesting and newsworthy topics for the psychology blog; look at a variety of web publications specializing in subjects of mental health, and Google any recent newsworthy mental health topics. The articles I write about on the blog are usually based on scientific research, which is […]

Very Young Children Being Prescribed Antipsychotics in Florida

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

Why are pediatricians and psychiatrists prescribing powerful antipsychotic medications to children who are under age 5? Especially when no antipsychotic (except Risperdal) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in terms of safety or efficacy for use in children. Why is the use of these unapproved-for-children medications so widespread (and growing)?
A […]

An Updated Zyprexa Warning Label

Saturday, October 6th, 2007

Zyprexa, the embattled antipsychotic drug made by drug giant Eli Lilly, made the news rounds again yesterday. Lilly announced it was adding more warnings to the drug regarding an increased risk of a number of side effects, including weight gain, higher blood sugar, metabolic problems and higher cholesterol. You can read Pharmalot’s take on the […]



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