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.

Two research studies on new molecules could potentially treat Alzheimer's disease

This year, results have been published of two significant research studies about molecules that could potentially treat Alzheimer's disease.

30 Dec 2016

Study highlights importance of treating mental-health problems to reduce community violence

New research from North Carolina State University, RTI International, Arizona State University and Duke University Medical Center finds a host of factors that are associated with subsequent risk of adults with mental illness becoming victims or perpetrators of violence

22 Dec 2016

Antipsychotic drug use linked to 60% increased risk of mortality among people with Alzheimer's disease

Antipsychotic drug use is associated with a 60 percent increased risk of mortality among persons with Alzheimer's disease, shows a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland.

14 Dec 2016

Women with dementia receive less health monitoring than men, UCL research reveals

Women with dementia have fewer visits to the GP, receive less health monitoring and take more potentially harmful medication than men with dementia, new UCL (University College London) research reveals.

4 Dec 2016

Scientists identify microrna that provides clues for quieting auditory hallucinations of schizophrenia

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a small RNA (microRNA) that may be essential to restoring normal function in a brain circuit associated with the "voices" and other hallucinations of schizophrenia.

30 Nov 2016

Personalized medicine may offer solution for treatment of psychiatric disturbances

An ever widening gap is appearing between clinical practice and the treatment prescribed in DSM-5, the standard work on schizophrenia, psychiatrist Jan Dirk Blom will assert in his inaugural lecture on 11 November.

11 Nov 2016

Lack of shrinkage in the hippocampus may help predict people at risk for dementia with Lewy bodies

Dementia with Lewy bodies is a progressive disease that causes hallucinations, decline in mental abilities, rigid muscles, slow movement and tremors. With symptoms similar to Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, a correct diagnosis can be difficult.

3 Nov 2016

Lack of brain shrinkage may help identify people at risk for dementia with Lewy bodies

A lack of shrinkage in the area of the brain responsible for memory may be a sign that people with thinking and memory problems may go on to develop dementia with Lewy bodies rather than Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study published in the November 2, 2016, online issue of Neurology, a medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

2 Nov 2016

Folinic acid treatment could help improve language and communication skills of children with ASD

Prescription doses of folinic acid, which is a reduced form of a B vitamin known as folate, could help improve the language and communication skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

18 Oct 2016

Researchers underscore how oxidative stress and inflammation may contribute to risk of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a devastating mental illness consisting of delusions, hallucinations or disorganized thoughts, afflicting about 1% of the population with onset typically in late adolescence.

7 Oct 2016

Researchers identify process in the brains of mice that may explain repetitive actions in Rett patients

Three-year-old Naomi slaps her forehead a few times, bites her fingers and toddles across the doctor's office in her white and pink pajamas before turning her head into a door with a dull thud.

27 Sep 2016

Mood stabilizers may decrease negative symptoms in psychiatric patients with specific genotype

A drug prescribed to many patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder may decrease negative symptoms for people with a certain variant of the COMT gene, suggests a new study from researchers at Columbia University Medical Center.

14 Sep 2016

Antipsychotic use linked to higher pneumonia risk in patients with Alzheimer's disease

Antipsychotic medications are associated with an increased risk of pneumonia in persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to new research from the University of Eastern Finland.

30 Aug 2016

Study explores relationship between moderate-vigorous exercise and psychotic symptoms

Physical activity can help reduce cardiovascular disease and premature mortality in people with psychological problems.

26 Aug 2016

Diabetes drug linked to decreased weight gain in children with autism spectrum disorder

The diabetes medication metformin hydrochloride was associated with decreased weight gain in a small clinical trial of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder who were taking atypical antipsychotics to treat symptoms of irritability and agitation, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry.

24 Aug 2016

Low adherence to antipsychotic medication linked to long-term homelessness

SFU health sciences researcher Stefanie Rezansoff has published a new study on the treatment of serious mental illnesses among people who are homeless. This is the first study to investigate adherence to antipsychotic medication in this population.

18 Aug 2016

New CBIT therapy can help lessen frequency of tics

When Dr. Laura Duda goes into an elementary school classroom, she can usually spot one or two children who have a tic - a rapid, involuntary movement or sound such as sniffing, blinking their eyes or scrunching their faces.

21 Jul 2016

Study highlights effectiveness of atypical antipsychotic drug in treating children with TD

A meta-analysis of clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of aripiprazole for the treatment of Tourette's disorder (TD) in children and adolescents showed a significantly greater overall improvement in total tics and tic severity from pretreatment to post-treatment for the aripiprazole compared to the placebo group.