Antipsychotic News and Research

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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.

Study may help explain why antipsychotic drugs can promote overeating, weight gain

Research to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, may explain why some antipsychotic drugs can promote overeating, weight gain, and insulin resistance.

12 Jul 2011

Positive topline results from Alkermes ALKS 9070 phase 1b study for schizophrenia

Alkermes, Inc. today announced positive topline results from a phase 1b, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of ALKS 9070 in patients with schizophrenia.

30 Jun 2011

BioLineRx initiates enrollment in BL-1020 Phase II/III trial against schizophrenia

BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today the enrollment of the first patient in the Phase II/III CLARITY clinical trial of BL-1020, a first in class, orally available, GABA-enhanced antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia.

28 Jun 2011

Study: Early intervention can reduce recurrences, prevent psychosis

Schizophrenia is a chronic illness that most often comes on in late adolescence or young adulthood and can devastate patients' lives. Many physicians and researchers believe that early intervention can increase the chances for recovery, reduce recurrences and even prevent the warning signs of psychosis from progressing to the actual disease.

15 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Private vs. public Medicare; N.J. Medicaid tough choices; IPAB's cost controls

Every once in a while a politician comes up with an idea that's so bad, so wrongheaded, that you're almost grateful. For really bad ideas can help illustrate the extent to which policy discourse has gone off the rails. And so it was with Senator Joseph Lieberman's proposal, released last week, to raise the age for Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67.

14 Jun 2011

Smoking keeps weight off: Study finds out how

The researchers have found that nicotine activates a pathway in the brain that suppresses appetite. The study was published in the journal Science. The authors believe this discovery should lead to better diet drugs.

9 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: More on Medicare's 'hard choices'; elderly and anti-psychotics; Calif. insurance rate hikes

Unless we make hard decisions now, in less than a decade every dollar of federal revenue will go to covering the costs of Medicare, Social Security and interest payments on our debt. ... I admire Congressman Paul Ryan's honest attempt to save Medicare.

2 Jun 2011

New clinical research study to compare two medications for bipolar disorder

Patients with bipolar disorder may be eligible for a new clinical research study comparing two medications -- quetiapine, a widely prescribed second-generation antipsychotic mood-stabilizing medication, and lithium, the gold-standard mood stabilizer.

25 May 2011

Study to examine population rates of ED use for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities

In the first North American study to examine population rates of Emergency Department (ED) use for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) found 55 per cent of adults with IDD and mental illness visited the ED at least once in a 2 year period and 15.6 per cent visited at least 5 times.

16 May 2011

Govt. audit finds antipsychotic drugs often overused in nursing homes

More than half of the antipsychotics paid for by Medicare in the first half of 2007 were "erroneous," the audit found, costing the program $116 million during those six months.

11 May 2011

Elan Drug Technologies, Alkermes merge to form new company in Ireland

Alkermes, Inc. and Elan Corporation, plc today announced the execution of a definitive agreement under which Alkermes will merge with Elan Drug Technologies, the profitable, world-class drug formulation and manufacturing business unit of Elan, in a cash and stock transaction currently valued at approximately $960 million.

9 May 2011

Roundup: Vt. House vote on universal health care could come today; Calif. group warns of rising costs of retiree health care and pensions

The House is slated Thursday to take up a conference committee report on a bill designed to put the state on the path to universal health care by 2017 if not sooner. The bill sets up a new Green Mountain Care Board to design a system to provide health insurance to every Vermont resident.

6 May 2011

Positive results from Shire's Vyvanse clinical trial in schizophrenia

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced positive results from a signal-finding study of Vyvanse(R) Capsules assessing its effect in a prospective examination of adults with negative symptom predominant schizophrenia.

28 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Shortsighted fight against fund to prevent disease; strengthening regulators' control of premium increases

House Republicans are so bent on blocking any and all aspects of health care reform that they have passed a bill that would eliminate a farsighted program — the Prevention and Public Health Fund — intended to help states and communities prevent diseases. Eliminating the fund would save roughly $16 billion over the course of a decade. … The loss to states and local communities would be considerable.

27 Apr 2011

Lilly and Medtronic’s joint venture in Parkinson’s disease therapy

Lilly has already developed a protein called GDNF (glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor) known to preserve the function of neurons and Medtronic will provide a system that carries the medicine to a key area of the brain.

From Medtronic 26 Apr 2011

Curemark CM-182 demonstrates positive results for schizophrenia in transgenic chakragati model of psychosis

Curemark, LLC, a drug research and development company focused on the treatment of neurological diseases, announced today that its compound CM-182 demonstrated positive results for schizophrenia in the transgenic chakragati (ckr) model of psychosis. The mouse model screening was performed by the Contract Research Organization, Cerca Insights.

25 Apr 2011

America’s best loved drugs: Report

According to the latest report from consulting firm IMS Health, Americans are consuming a lot of prescription drugs. And they seem especially fond of those to lower their cholesterol, relieve heartburn, aid in depressive disorders and lessen pain. Overall, however, their spending on such drugs is slowing.

20 Apr 2011

Johnson & Johnson reports net sales of $16.2 billion for first quarter 2011

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $16.2 billion for the first quarter of 2011, an increase of 3.5% as compared to the first quarter of 2010.

19 Apr 2011

Targacept's TC-5619 Phase 2 trial data in schizophrenia presented at ICOSR

Targacept, Inc. today announced the presentation of data from a Phase 2 clinical proof of concept trial to assess TC-5619 as an augmentation therapy to improve cognition in patients with schizophrenia at the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

8 Apr 2011

More studies needed to identify which specific autism treatments are helpful for specific children

Vanderbilt researchers evaluating existing treatments for children with autism spectrum disorders found although there were positive results in some studies, there is little information to target the right treatments to specific children.

5 Apr 2011