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.

Report reveals urgent need to improve physical health of people with Schizophrenia

People with schizophrenia often die prematurely. However researchers from the University of Glasgow and NHS Greater Glasgow assert that much of the excess mortality of schizophrenia is preventable through lifestyle changes and the treatment of common diseases.

27 Apr 2005

Gene may boost schizophrenia risk

Clues about how a suspect version of a gene may slightly increase risk for schizophrenia are emerging from a brain imaging study by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The gene variant produced a telltale pattern of activity linked to production of a key brain messenger chemical.

21 Apr 2005

Electroshock therapy speeds improvement in schizophrenia patients

Shock therapy, a controversial practice conjuring frightening images of behavior control, still has a place in schizophrenia treatment, a newly updated research review shows.

20 Apr 2005

FDA issues public health advisory for antipsychotic drugs

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a public health advisory to alert health care providers, patients, and patient caregivers to new safety information concerning an unapproved (i.e., “off-label”) use of certain drugs called “atypical antipsychotic drugs.”

12 Apr 2005

FDA wants warnings put on antipsychotic drugs

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a public health advisory to health care providers, patients, and caregivers to alert them to new safety information about the use of certain unapproved or off label drugs which come under the category of “atypical antipsychotic drugs.”

11 Apr 2005

Findings could lead to improved treatments for schizophrenics, amphetamine abusers

An Oregon Health & Science University researcher is among an international team closing in on why many people with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are "supersensitive" to the powerful neurotransmitter dopamine.

10 Apr 2005

New antipsychotic drug prevents brain loss in schizophrenia

A new brain imaging study of recently diagnosed schizophrenia patients has found, for the first time, that the loss of gray matter typically experienced by patients can be prevented by one of the new atypical antipsychotic drugs, olanzapine, but not by haloperidol, an older, conventional drug.

4 Apr 2005

Different antipsychotic medications may have different effects on brain volume in patients with first episode of psychosis

After a first psychotic episode, patients who were treated with an atypical antipsychotic medication had less change in brain volume compared with patients treated with a conventional antipsychotic medication, according to an article in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Apr 2005

Quetiapine speeds up rate of decline in Alzheimers

Quetiapine, a drug commonly used in nursing homes to treat agitation and related symptoms in people with Alzheimers' disease actually worsens patients' illness, speeding up their rate of decline significantly, says a paper published on bmj.com.

20 Feb 2005

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

Generic antipsychotic drugs can protect brain cells from progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy

Generic antipsychotic drugs can protect brain cells from a virus that causes a fatal nervous system disorder, according to research conducted at Brown University and Case Western Reserve University.

18 Nov 2004

Scientists have identified a fault in the brain waves of schizophrenics that may explain their hallucinations and disturbed thinking

The researchers studied the brain waves of normal and schizophrenic patients as they responded to images. Those with the disorder showed no electrical activity in a certain frequency-the “gamma” range, from 30 to 100 brain waves per second-that healthy brain cells use to exchange information about the environment and form mental impressions.

9 Nov 2004

Researchers are comparing two drugs used to treat pediatric bipolar disorder

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers are comparing two drugs used to treat pediatric bipolar disorder patients to evaluate how the drugs affect brain function in children with the disorder.

25 Oct 2004

Atypical antipsychotics commonly used to treat children with aggression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia may trigger insulin resistance

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center say a group of drugs known as "atypical antipsychotics" that are commonly used to treat children with aggression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia may trigger insulin resistance, a condition that increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease later in life.

21 Oct 2004

Seroquel is significantly more effective than placebo in treating patients with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder

AstraZeneca has announced important new data at the 4th European Stanley Foundation Conference on Bipolar Disorder, which show Seroquel is significantly more effective than placebo in treating patients with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder and is also well-tolerated in this difficult to treat patient population.

26 Sep 2004

Pfizer receives approval for acute bipolar mania drug

Pfizer has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of its atypical antipsychotic Geodon(R) (ziprasidone HCI) for the treatment of acute bipolar mania including manic and mixed episodes.

23 Aug 2004

Janssen Pharmaceutica has sent a letter to health care providers to clarify the risks involved with the use of RISPERDAL®

Janssen Pharmaceutica, the maker of RISPERDAL® (risperidone), the most frequently prescribed antipsychotic medication in the U.S., has sent a letter to health care providers to clarify the risks involved with the use of RISPERDAL®.

26 Jul 2004

Drug used to treat schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders appears effective at treating Alzheimer’s disease

Doctors are reporting some success in treating one of the most troubling symptoms of dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease. A drug commonly used to treat schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders appears effective at reducing actions like screaming at or slapping caregivers – agitated behaviors that occur in as many as half of patients.

23 Jul 2004

First well-conducted studies of use of antipsychotics in people with Alzheimer’s

A member of a class of drugs that are widely prescribed for abnormal behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer’s – but not often studied in people with the degenerative brain disease – proved to be effective and well tolerated in treating agitation in people with severe Alzheimer’s