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.

New drug naming system to be presented at ECNP conference in Berlin

What's in a name? Doctors have found that the name of the drug you are prescribed significantly influences how the patient sees the treatment.

20 Oct 2014

Cardiometabolic health intervention urged for schizophrenia patients

Research shows high cardiometabolic risk, particularly increased dyslipidaemia and smoking, but little related medical treatment in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

15 Oct 2014

Johnson & Johnson's sales increase 5.1% to $18.5 billion in Q3 2014

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $18.5 billion for the third quarter of 2014, an increase of 5.1% as compared to the third quarter of 2013. Operational results increased 5.8% and the negative impact of currency was 0.7%. Domestic sales increased 11.6%. International sales decreased 0.3%, reflecting operational growth of 1.0% and a negative currency impact of 1.3%.

14 Oct 2014

State highlights: Md., Minn. see small business health insurance rate changes; Texas sues AstraZeneca over Seroquel marketing

Some small businesses in Maryland will see a small drop in health insurance premiums next year, while others will pay as much as 11 percent more to cover their workers, according to rates released by state regulators Friday. The rates, which go into effect in January, only apply to small firms with up to 50 employees, and not to large or self-insured firms or individuals buying coverage on the state's health insurance exchange. Evergreen Health Cooperative sought no rate increase, and Aetna Health Inc. will raise rates only slightly, according to the rate information released by the Maryland Insurance Administration. Some UnitedHealthcare premiums will drop by about 2.5 percent (Cohn, 10/10).

14 Oct 2014

Pointers for boosting prophylactic bipolar treatment reported

Patients with newly diagnosed bipolar disorder who have not previously used psychiatric drugs or have short hospital admissions should be targeted for prophylactic treatment, say researchers.

8 Oct 2014

Complex associations underlie functional variance in schizophrenia

The complex associations between predictors and mediators of real-life functioning highlight the need for integrated and personalised treatment for patients with schizophrenia, say researchers in World Psychiatry.

8 Oct 2014

Dendritic spine density also reduced in bipolar disorder

Patients with bipolar disorder have significant dendritic spine loss in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, postmortem findings show.

2 Oct 2014

Hospitals seek to control costs by setting standards for care

One group in Delaware looked at high spending on cardiac monitoring for patients who really didn't need it and encouraged doctors to instead use guidelines from the American Heart Association. Costs fell by 70 percent for the monitoring, a study finds.

24 Sep 2014

State highlights: Calif. readies new checks on foster kid psych meds; Kan. employment support for those with mental illness

In a significant step toward curbing the overuse of psychiatric drugs in California's foster care system, doctors will soon be required to get extra authorization to prescribe antipsychotics, a new safeguard to protect some of the state's most overmedicated children. Beginning Oct. 1, a state pharmacist must verify the "medical necessity" of each antipsychotic prescription before the medications can be given to children who are 17 and younger and covered by Medi-Cal, the state's health program for the poor that also includes foster children (De Sa, 9/18).

22 Sep 2014

Resting-state brainwaves altered in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia have increased resting-state gamma-band connectivity in a distinct region of the brain, and the increases correlate with clinical symptoms, research shows.

18 Sep 2014

Benefits and risks of hatha yoga for people with bipolar disorder

Right now no one can say whether yoga provides clinical benefits to people with bipolar disorder, but in a new article in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice, researchers report survey responses they gathered from scores of people with the condition who practice yoga. What the collective testimony suggests is that yoga can be a substantial help, but it sometimes carries risks, too.

18 Sep 2014

Stimulation therapy and behavioral management training for parents reduce kids’ violent behaviors

Prescribing both a stimulant and an antipsychotic drug to children with physical aggression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), along with teaching parents to use behavior management techniques, reduces aggressive and serious behavioral problems in children, according to a study conducted by researchers in the Department of Psychiatry at Stony Brook University School of Medicine.

4 Sep 2014

Electroconvulsive therapy combats treatment-resistant schizophrenia

The use of electroconvulsive therapy improves the chances of a treatment response in patients with continued schizophrenia symptoms despite use of antipsychotic medication, a randomised trial shows.

3 Sep 2014

Kids, adolescents are at increased risk of developing diabetes if exposed to antipsychotics

A study published in the September 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that children and adolescents diagnosed with a psychiatric diagnosis had an increased risk of developing diabetes if they were exposed to antipsychotics.

2 Sep 2014