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Augmenting an antidepressant with aripiprazole may help some older adults with treatment-resistant depression

For older adults with clinical depression that has not responded to standard treatments, adding the drug aripiprazole (brand name Abilify) to an antidepressant they're already taking is more effective than switching from one antidepressant to another, according to a new multicenter study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

3 Mar 2023

Researchers assess the evidence basis for medications used to treat spine-related pain in older adults

Spine-related pain is increasingly common in older adults. While medications play an important role in pain management, their use has limitations in geriatric patients due to reduced liver and kidney function, comorbid medical problems and polypharmacy (the simultaneous use of multiple drugs to treat medical conditions).

28 Jun 2022

AAN issues new guideline on oral and topical treatments for painful diabetic neuropathy

Diabetic neuropathy refers to nerve damage due to diabetes and it may lead to pain and numbness, most often in the hands and feet. To help neurologists and other doctors determine the best treatment for people with diabetic neuropathy, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has issued a guideline on oral and topical treatments for painful diabetic neuropathy.

28 Dec 2021

Study: 20% of people with depression have suicidal thoughts despite treatment

One in five people with depression have suicidal thoughts despite treatment with antidepressants. This is shown by a new study from iPSYCH. The results can be used to examine whether more targeted treatment could be provided for patients where medication does not have a sufficient effect.

2 Dec 2019

Existing antidepressant drug could slow progression of Parkinson’s

Michigan State University scientists now have early proof that an antidepressant drug that's been around for more than 50 years could slow the progression of Parkinson's.

6 Sep 2017

UCLA-led study to evaluate treatment strategies for older adults with depression

More than half of older adults who are treated for depression find that eventually their treatments are no longer effective. When depression persists, these people are at greater risk of accelerated aging, declining mental health and even suicide.

6 Oct 2016

Most antidepressants are ineffective at treating children and teens, study shows

The majority of antidepressants prescribed to treat children and teenagers with major depression are ineffective and may even be unsafe, warn researchers.

9 Jun 2016

Combining nortriptyline and morphine successfully relieves chronic neuropathic pain

The combination of two well-known drugs will have unprecedented effects on pain management, says new research from Queen's.

8 Apr 2015

Antidepressant nortriptyline does not improve overall symptoms in patients with idiopathic gastroparesis

Among patients with idiopathic (of unknown cause) gastroparesis, use of the antidepressant nortriptyline compared with placebo for 15 weeks did not result in improvement in overall symptoms, according to a study appearing in the December 25 issue of JAMA.

25 Dec 2013

SSRI use raises risk of fall among elderly with dementia: Study

A new study reveals that nursing home residents with dementia who use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have an increased risk of having a fall that causes injury compared with those who do not use SSRIs. Additionally those using average doses have 3 times the risk compared with nonusers, the authors, led by Carolyn S. Sterke, from Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, report. Authors write, “Even at low doses, SSRIs are associated with increased risk of an injurious fall in nursing home residents with dementia.”

22 Jan 2012

Combination therapy for severe depression

Severe depression is life threatening. So it is worth every effort to get depression under control and make life more manageable. For most people, that means some combination of antidepressant drugs and talk therapy.

29 Jun 2010

New drug combination releives neuropathic pain and improves sleep

People who suffer from debilitating neuropathic pain may get more relief and sleep better by combining two commonly-prescribed drugs.

1 Oct 2009

Antidepressants aid electroconvulsive therapy in treating severe depression

Combining antidepressant drugs with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) does a better job of reducing symptoms of severe depression and causes less memory loss than using ECT alone, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.

6 Jul 2009

Tricyclic antidepressants best for depression in Parkinson's

A new study shows that antidepressant drugs which only affect serotonin, often used as first choice treatments, may not be best for depression in people with Parkinson's disease.

17 Dec 2008

Antidepressants might be worthless for treating low back pain

The review appears in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.

30 Jan 2008

Adding medication improves recovery for elderly with depression

Adding a medication to a standard treatment regimen for major depressive disorder in the elderly improves chances of recovery in those who do not adequately respond to the first-course therapy or who relapse from it, finds a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association.

3 Jun 2007

Varenicline shown to help 'quit smoking'

A drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an aid to smoking cessation appears effective both short- and long-term for smokers trying to quit, according to two reports in the August 14/28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

14 Aug 2006

Varenicline could increase number who quit smoking

Smokers who try to quit using existing medications, such as nicotine patches or Zyban, are about twice as likely to succeed as those who don't use medication or are prescribed placebos during clinical trials.

3 May 2006

Psychiatric illness drugs may protect the brain cells that die in people with Huntington's disease

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered that drugs commonly used to treat psychiatric illnesses and blood disorders in humans may protect the brain cells that die in people with Huntington's disease, possibly delaying the onset and slowing the progression of the disease.

31 Jan 2005

Antidepressants may help people quit smoking when used in conjunction with nicotine patches

When used with a transdermal nicotine patch, nortriptyline—an antidepressant medication—may aid in smoking cessation, according to an article in the November 8 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Nov 2004