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.

U.S. probes whether Medicaid programs prescribe antipsychotics to children too often

Health officials are investigating whether health care professionals are prescribing antipsychotic drugs too often to children on Medicaid. In the meantime, a Texas compounding pharmacy has become the latest to have its products recalled over meningitis concerns.

13 Aug 2013

First Edition: Aug. 12, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about state action on the health law's implementation and other news from the health insurance marketplace.

12 Aug 2013

QUM report helps manage antipsychotic medicine use in residential aged care facilities

NPS MedicineWise and Webstercare have collaborated for the first time on a project to assist in the review of antipsychotic medicine use in residential aged care facilities.

12 Aug 2013

Use of acronyms leads to poor understanding by practitioners in mental health services

Use of abbreviations is common among mental health professionals but a significant number of acronyms used are either ambiguous or poorly understood by nursing staff, a study has found.

24 Jul 2013

Exposure to excessive heat can lead to heatstroke

The Substance and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is issuing a heat advisory to alert the nation to the increased risk of heat-related illnesses for individuals with mental and substance use disorders. Children and older adults with these conditions are particularly vulnerable to elevated temperatures.

23 Jul 2013

Assurex Health announces release of new psychiatric pharmacogenomic test panel

Assurex Health today announced the release of GeneSight Psychotropic 2.0, its lead psychiatric pharmacogenomic test panel. This latest GeneSight Psychotropic version has been updated to include four additional medications that now cover a total of 36 of the most commonly prescribed psychotropic medications in the US.

15 Jul 2013

Seven scientists to receive Annual Klerman and Freedman Prizes from Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Seven young scientists will be recognized by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation at its presentation of the Annual Klerman and Freedman Prizes on Friday July 26, 2013 at Le Parker Meriden Hotel, New York, NY.

12 Jul 2013

New avatar system could provide quick and effective therapy for schizophrenia

An avatar system that enables people with schizophrenia to control the voice of their hallucinations is being developed by researchers at UCL with support from the Wellcome Trust.

31 May 2013

Omeros announces positive results from OMS824 Phase 1 clinical program

Omeros Corporation today announced positive results from its Phase 1 clinical program evaluating OMS824, the lead compound from its phosphodiesterase 10 (PDE10) program.

31 May 2013

Alkermes reports positive results from phase 1 study of ALKS 3831 for treatment of schizophrenia

Alkermes plc today presented positive results from a phase 1 study of ALKS 3831, a novel drug candidate for the treatment of schizophrenia, in an oral session at the 53rd Annual New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit Meeting in Hollywood, Fla.

28 May 2013

New MRI superresolution methods enable structural study of psychosis

A team of researchers from the UPNA/NUP-Public University of Navarre has developed new superresolution and segmentation methods for magnetic resonance images so that they can be applied to the structural study of psychosis. The aim is to be able to identify the differences that are produced in specific parts of the brain in psychotic patients with respect to their healthy relatives or other people.

28 May 2013

State highlights: La. grand jury to examine $200M Medicaid contract

More than half of the states that applied to participate in a controversial CMS pilot for dual-eligible beneficiaries have either dropped out or delayed implementation of their programs, according to health policy experts. Among the 26 states that applied to participate in the CMS Financial Alignment Initiative, which stems from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, six have dropped out or opted for different "customized" plans and nine have delayed their start dates (Daly, 5/23).

27 May 2013

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.

23 May 2013

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).

18 May 2013

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.

17 May 2013

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.

15 May 2013

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.

9 May 2013

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.

29 Apr 2013

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.

19 Apr 2013

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.

10 Apr 2013