Antipsychotic News and Research RSS Feed - Antipsychotic News and Research

Antipsychotics are medicines used to treat the symptoms of mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder (sometimes called manic-depressive illness), anxiety disorders, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Sometimes medications are used with other treatments such as psychotherapy.

NIH-funded study raises hope for recovery of some adult patients with brain disorder

Scientists have reversed behavioral and brain abnormalities in adult mice that resemble some features of schizophrenia by restoring normal expression to a suspect gene that is over-expressed in humans with the illness. [More]
Thioridazine works by weakening staphylococcal cell wall, new study reveals

Thioridazine works by weakening staphylococcal cell wall, new study reveals

In 2008 researchers from the University of Southern Denmark showed that the drug thioridazine, which has previously been used to treat schizophrenia, is also a powerful weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus). [More]
Weekend reading: Volunteers in the battle with heart disease; Psychiatry without medication; Owning your genes

Weekend reading: Volunteers in the battle with heart disease; Psychiatry without medication; Owning your genes

Psychiatrists who take time with their patients are not the norm. It's not because others don't care. Rather the system rewards efficiency, not empathy. [More]
Prenatal exposure to influenza increases risk of bipolar disorder in offspring

Prenatal exposure to influenza increases risk of bipolar disorder in offspring

Pregnant mothers' exposure to the flu was associated with a nearly fourfold increased risk that their child would develop bipolar disorder in adulthood, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. [More]
Calif. Senate leader readies mental health service expansion

Calif. Senate leader readies mental health service expansion

The California Senate leader is proposing increasing mental health services to reduce how many end up in jail or ERs. In Massachusetts, officials plan greater scrutiny of how insurers cover mental health care. [More]

Delayed psychosis treatment harms chance of success

The longer patients with first-episode psychosis go untreated, the less likely they are to achieve remission within a year of starting treatment, report researchers. [More]
Targacept moving forward with Phase 2b study of TC-5619 for treatment of schizophrenia

Targacept moving forward with Phase 2b study of TC-5619 for treatment of schizophrenia

Targacept, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel NNR Therapeutics, today announced that it has completed recruitment of patients in the Phase 2b study of TC-5619 as a treatment for negative symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. [More]
REFRESH study: RP5063 shows promise for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder

REFRESH study: RP5063 shows promise for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder

Reviva Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held drug discovery and development company, today announces top-line results from REFRESH, a phase 2 clinical trial of RP5063 for the treatment of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. [More]
Viewpoints: Looking for the budget's true bottom line; The debate on Plan B reignited; Medicare cuts have impact

Viewpoints: Looking for the budget's true bottom line; The debate on Plan B reignited; Medicare cuts have impact

President Obama will release his overdue budget on Wednesday. It will doubtless project a reduction in the federal budget deficit-;a projection that journalists, commentators and policy makers should ignore. [More]
Animal robots for dementia treatment: an interview with Professor Wendy Moyle, Griffith University

Animal robots for dementia treatment: an interview with Professor Wendy Moyle, Griffith University

A robotic cat was first trialled in the US in early 2004 as a companion pet for people with dementia. A number of nursing homes have either ‘toy’ or robotic animals that they use as entertainment for older residents as well as people with dementia. [More]
Schizophrenia patients experiencing relapse are more likely to develop UTIs

Schizophrenia patients experiencing relapse are more likely to develop UTIs

Schizophrenia patients experiencing relapse are 29 times more likely than healthy individuals to have a urinary tract infection, researchers report. [More]
New evidence shows older adults with dementia can be taken off antipsychotic medications

New evidence shows older adults with dementia can be taken off antipsychotic medications

Most older adults with dementia can successfully be taken off antipsychotic medications, which have negative side effects and increase the risk of death, finds a new evidence review from The Cochrane Library. [More]

Academic medical centers launch ASD sub-registry within ResearchMatch

Each year, only five percent of the estimated 1.5 million children with an autism spectrum disorder in the US participate in clinical research studies. This is in stark contrast to pediatric cancer studies, which have a nearly 90 percent enrollment rate - a rate that has helped advance treatment and outcomes for childhood cancers substantially in the last decade. [More]
Alarming report on persistent side effects of antidepressant drugs published online

Alarming report on persistent side effects of antidepressant drugs published online

An alarming report from patient online websites on persistent side effects of antidepressant drugs has been published in one of the last issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics by investigators from the University of Bologna and North America. [More]
Study finds increased use of antipsychotic medication among Medicaid-insured children

Study finds increased use of antipsychotic medication among Medicaid-insured children

A new study from the University of Maryland found that use of antipsychotic drugs from 1997 to 2006 increased 7- to 12-fold in a Medicaid population of about 500,000 children ages two to 17. [More]
Antipsychotic drugs associated with increased risk of stroke in the elderly

Antipsychotic drugs associated with increased risk of stroke in the elderly

Antipsychotic administration in the elderly is associated with an increased risk for cerebrovascular accident, more commonly known as stroke; a new study published in Biological Psychiatry provides additional insight into this important relationship. [More]

Researchers develop new approach to screening potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease

According to a 2012 World Health Organization report, over 35 million people worldwide currently have dementia, a number that is expected to double by 2030 (66 million) and triple by 2050 (115 million). [More]
Inflammatory marker for schizophrenia treatment resistance, severity

Inflammatory marker for schizophrenia treatment resistance, severity

Levels of the inflammatory marker soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 may be associated with severity of symptoms and treatment resistance in schizophrenia, say Brazilian scientists. [More]
Vitamin B12 and folate alleviate negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia

Vitamin B12 and folate alleviate negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia

Adding the dietary supplements folate and vitamin B12 to treatment with antipsychotic medication improved a core symptom component of schizophrenia in a study of more than 100 patients. [More]

Quitting cannabis may not alleviate psychosis

The amount of cannabis used does not appear to be associated with the severity of symptoms in patients with established psychosis, although the drug is linked to a small effect on psychosocial functioning, say UK scientists. [More]