Alberta Long-term Care Homes Reduce Antipsychotic Use by 50%
The provincial government health service of Alberta, Canada recently concluded a successful pilot project that reduced the use of antipsychotic medications for patients with...
“Alarm and Disbelief” as New EU President Moves Regulation of Medicines to Industry Ministry
The new President-elect of the European Union Jean-Claude Juncker has removed key responsibilities relating to health and medicines from the government Commissioner in charge...
Strong Publication Bias Found in Psychology Research
University of Salzburg researchers analyzed the results of 1,000 randomly-selected published psychology articles from 2007 and found strong evidence of publication biases, according to...
Researchers Faked Data on Epigenetics of Bipolar Disorder
The British Journal of Psychiatry has issued a retraction of an article purporting to have identified evidence of the epigenetic aspects of bipolar disorder,...
Benzodiazepines Linked to Increased Risk of Alzheimer’s: Causation or Not?
According to a study in the British Medical Journal, benzodiazepine use is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Some experts...
Common Sleep Aid Linked to Doubling of Parkinson’s Risk
The nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic zolpidem, widely used as a sleep aid under many different brand names such as Ambien and Sublinox, seems to be linked...
Mice Without Serotonin Do Not Display Depression
Mice genetically developed to lack the ability to produce serotonin in their brains did not display any depression-like symptoms or behaviors, according to a...
Unpublished Trials Reveal Antidepressant Provides Little Benefit For Depression or Anxiety
Upon reviewing all of GlaxoSmithKline's data from both published and unpublished trials of the antidepressant paroxetine, researchers found the drug provided almost no benefits...
Psychotherapy Shows Positive Outcomes in German Hospitals
In what the authors describe as "the first meta-analysis on the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic hospital treatment in Germany," two Hamburg University Medical Center researchers...
Increased Bone Fracture Risk from SSRI Antidepressants
"Evidence from longitudinal, cross-sectional, and prospective cohort studies suggests that the use of antidepressants at therapeutic doses is associated with decreased bone mineral density...
DSM IV & V Identify Different Groups of Veterans with PTSD
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research psychiatrists have found that many different veterans have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder depending on whether the criteria from the...
Public Citizen Criticizes FDA’s Draft Guidelines on Drug Risk Disclosures
In the wake of a major court decision, the US Food and Drug Administration has issued new guidelines for public comment, covering how pharmaceutical...
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia Alleviates Depression
Nearly 150 people taking antidepressants had more robust alleviations of their depression after participating in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI), according to research...
FDA Approves Potential “Blockbuster” Sleep Drug
The US FDA on Wednesday approved a new type of drug for insomnia, called Belsroma. Last year, a lengthy investigative report in The New...
Leading Prescriber of Antipsychotic Drugs Has License Suspended
"Illinois medical regulators have indefinitely suspended the medical license of psychiatrist Michael Reinstein, who prescribed more of the most powerful and riskiest antipsychotic drug...
Top Psychiatrist Fired In “Political” Row Over PTSD-Marijuana Study
A psychiatrist at the University of Arizona was fired after state Republican Senators criticized her work to university officials, according to the New York...
Not an Onion Study: Loss of a Loved One Increases Risk of Psychological Distress
When a loved one dies, some people are more likely to become very sad, drink more, and be diagnosed by mental health professionals as...
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....
Less-impaired Youth Using Antipsychotics with Other Medications More Often
Use of second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) alongside other medications is growing rapidly among youth who are less impaired, according to a study published online in...
Antipsychotic Risperidone Raises Risk of Male Breast Enlargement
Taking the antipsychotic medication risperidone significantly increases men's chances of developing gynecomastia, or breast enlargement, according to a study by University of British Columbia...
ADHD Medication Risks Outweigh Benefits in Most Cases
A systematic review of studies of stimulant medications for ADHD has concluded that the drugs should be used as a last resort, in rare...
More Time in Foster Care Linked to More Psychotropic Medicating
Children as young as four in foster care are taking three or more psychotropic medications, and the length of time that children aged six...
Infant Rats Adopt Their Mothers’ Fears
Newborn rats can "learn" the fears their mothers have, and then will carry those same fears for the rest of their lives, according to...
UK NHS Adopts Lifestyle Program for Antipsychotic Users
Britain's National Health Service is adopting a "lifestyle medicine program" that was developed in Australia for young people taking antipsychotics, according to The Guardian....
BMJ Reports on Conflict-of-Interest Transparency Movement
Two articles in the British Medical Journal this month discuss the problem of widespread conflicts of interest in medicine and psychiatry, and provide updates...
