More than 75% of people suffering from mental disorders in the developing world receive no treatment or care. A new WHO programme launched today, on World Mental Health Day 2008 highlights the huge treatment gap for a number of mental, neurological and substance use disorders. Across Africa for example, nine out of ten people suffering from epilepsy go untreated, unable to access simple and inexpensive anticonvulsant drugs which cost less than US$5 a year per person.
WHO is now calling on governments, donors and mental health stakeholders to rapidly increase funding and basic mental health services to close this huge treatment gap. The programme, Mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP): Scaling up care for mental, neurological and substance use disorders asserts that with proper care, psychosocial assistance and medication, tens of millions could be treated for diseases such as depression, schizophrenia, and epilepsy and begin to lead healthy lives, even where resources are scarce.
“Governments across the world need to see mental health as a vital component of primary health care. We need to change policy and practice. Only then can we get the essential mental health services to the tens of millions in need”, said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organ.
READ MORE @ WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
Showing posts with label medication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medication. Show all posts
Friday, October 10, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Risks of Suicidal Ideation and Behavior with Epilepsy Drugs Reaffirmed
All epilepsy drugs should carry a warning -- not necessarily boxed -- about increased risks for suicidal ideation and behavior, a joint meeting of two FDA committees concluded here.
In January, the FDA released results of an analysis that found almost double the risk of suicidality with the use of 11 drugs used to treat epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. (See: FDA Finds Suicidal Behavior in Studies of 11 Epilepsy Drugs)
Today, a joint meeting of the FDA's Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee and the Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of the agency's conclusions that the finding of increased risk should apply not only to all of the drugs in the analysis, but to all anticonvulsants currently on the market.
The committees also voted to describe the risks in a medication guide that would be handed out to patients who were prescribed the drugs.
However, the idea of including a black box warning on the drugs was rejected. Committee members feared that such a warning would discourage physicians from appropriately prescribing the drugs to those who need them.
READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY
In January, the FDA released results of an analysis that found almost double the risk of suicidality with the use of 11 drugs used to treat epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. (See: FDA Finds Suicidal Behavior in Studies of 11 Epilepsy Drugs)
Today, a joint meeting of the FDA's Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee and the Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of the agency's conclusions that the finding of increased risk should apply not only to all of the drugs in the analysis, but to all anticonvulsants currently on the market.
The committees also voted to describe the risks in a medication guide that would be handed out to patients who were prescribed the drugs.
However, the idea of including a black box warning on the drugs was rejected. Committee members feared that such a warning would discourage physicians from appropriately prescribing the drugs to those who need them.
READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Seriously Depressed Teens Respond to Combined Therapy
"If at first..." Many high-risk teenagers with depression show improvement on treatment combining medication with cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Over half of adolescents who don't respond to a first antidepressant improve when switched to a combination of a different antidepressant and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This is a key finding of an NIMH-funded clinical trial, the Treatment of SSRI-Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA).
Previous trials have shown that SSRI antidepressants or CBT or the combination can produce an adequate clinical response in up to 60 percent of treated adolescents, the authors noted, but, "There are no empirical studies to guide clinicians regarding the management of adolescents with depression not responsive to an initial treatment with an SSRI."
Previously, the Treatment of Adolescent Depression Study (TADS) demonstrated a similar benefit for combined therapy, but it tested a treatment-naïve group of depressed adolescents. TORDIA differed in two ways from TADS. It was aimed at youth who had not responded to a first round of treatment, and it included more chronically depressed adolescents (averaging two years) and more with suicidal ideation (59 percent)—groups often excluded from clinical trials, said lead author David Brent, M.D., in an interview with Psychiatric News.
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC NEWS
Over half of adolescents who don't respond to a first antidepressant improve when switched to a combination of a different antidepressant and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This is a key finding of an NIMH-funded clinical trial, the Treatment of SSRI-Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA).
Previous trials have shown that SSRI antidepressants or CBT or the combination can produce an adequate clinical response in up to 60 percent of treated adolescents, the authors noted, but, "There are no empirical studies to guide clinicians regarding the management of adolescents with depression not responsive to an initial treatment with an SSRI."
Previously, the Treatment of Adolescent Depression Study (TADS) demonstrated a similar benefit for combined therapy, but it tested a treatment-naïve group of depressed adolescents. TORDIA differed in two ways from TADS. It was aimed at youth who had not responded to a first round of treatment, and it included more chronically depressed adolescents (averaging two years) and more with suicidal ideation (59 percent)—groups often excluded from clinical trials, said lead author David Brent, M.D., in an interview with Psychiatric News.
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC NEWS
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Should Bipolar Medication Be Halted During Pregnancy?
When faced with pregnant women who have bipolar disorder, clinicians are urged to balance carefully the potential harm of medication to the fetus and the high risk of recurrent mood episodes in the mother.
Pregnant women with bipolar disorder and their physicians face a dilemma: stay on mood-stabilizing medications, which carry risks of causing birth defects, or discontinue the medications and brace for the possibility of relapse.
The possibility of relapse due to interrupted pharmacotherapy has been quantified in a study published in the December 2007 American Journal of Psychiatry, which warns that pregnant women with bipolar disorder who discontinue mood stabilizers are much more likely to suffer the return of their illness than those who continue taking the medications.
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC NEWS
Pregnant women with bipolar disorder and their physicians face a dilemma: stay on mood-stabilizing medications, which carry risks of causing birth defects, or discontinue the medications and brace for the possibility of relapse.
The possibility of relapse due to interrupted pharmacotherapy has been quantified in a study published in the December 2007 American Journal of Psychiatry, which warns that pregnant women with bipolar disorder who discontinue mood stabilizers are much more likely to suffer the return of their illness than those who continue taking the medications.
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC NEWS
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Anti-Anxiety Medications For Treating Anxiety Disorders
Everyone suffers a bit of anxiety on occasion. But does that mean you need anti-anxiety medication? Not necessarily.
Your palms begin to sweat and your stomach begins to flutter but you're fine. You're experiencing simple cases of nervousness and your body is responding in ways that are manageable. But, anxiety can explode into a serious problem.
Anxiety disorders, in addition to generalized anxiety, include phobias, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. For millions of sufferers anxiety disorders are disruptive, debilitating and often the reason for loss of job and serious problems in family relationships. So what can be done to control anxiety disorders?
READ MORE @ AMERICAN CHRONICLE
Your palms begin to sweat and your stomach begins to flutter but you're fine. You're experiencing simple cases of nervousness and your body is responding in ways that are manageable. But, anxiety can explode into a serious problem.
Anxiety disorders, in addition to generalized anxiety, include phobias, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. For millions of sufferers anxiety disorders are disruptive, debilitating and often the reason for loss of job and serious problems in family relationships. So what can be done to control anxiety disorders?
READ MORE @ AMERICAN CHRONICLE
Thursday, September 20, 2007
The ‘Poisonous Cocktail’ of Multiple Drugs
A 78-year-old woman was found unconscious on the floor of her apartment by a neighbor who checked on her. The woman could not remember falling but told doctors that before going to bed she had abdominal pain and nausea and had produced a black stool, after which she had palpitations and felt lightheaded.
Her medical history included high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure and osteoarthritis. She also had a cold with a productive cough. For each condition, she had been prescribed a different drug, and she was taking a few over-the-counter remedies on her own.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Her medical history included high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure and osteoarthritis. She also had a cold with a productive cough. For each condition, she had been prescribed a different drug, and she was taking a few over-the-counter remedies on her own.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Are ADHD Medications and Cardiac Risks Linked?
According to a September 17th AHRQ press release, The Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) together with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plan to conduct a huge examination of data from 500,000 patients who are taking medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to see if the medication increases the risk of cardiovascular problems. The data of both children and adults will be examined, and the study is expected to last two years.
It is already known that medications for ADHD can increase heart rate and blood pressure in patients taking the drug regime, and there have been case study reports of cardiac incidents, according to Dr. Gerald D. Pan, MD of the FDA's Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, as stated in the AHRQ press release. The study is to determine whether there is a causal relationship between cardiac problems and a person's taking ADHD medications or whether cardiovascular problems are due to the person's already being at risk for the cardiac incidents. The data to be examined is from a preliminary seven FDA year study which ended in 2005.
READ MORE @ ASSOCIATED CONTENT
It is already known that medications for ADHD can increase heart rate and blood pressure in patients taking the drug regime, and there have been case study reports of cardiac incidents, according to Dr. Gerald D. Pan, MD of the FDA's Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, as stated in the AHRQ press release. The study is to determine whether there is a causal relationship between cardiac problems and a person's taking ADHD medications or whether cardiovascular problems are due to the person's already being at risk for the cardiac incidents. The data to be examined is from a preliminary seven FDA year study which ended in 2005.
READ MORE @ ASSOCIATED CONTENT
Monday, September 17, 2007
Kids with ADHD have reason to hope
A.J. Copeland, 13, of Washington, D.C., started eighth grade this month with an announcement: "He said, 'I'm going to make all A's this year,' " recalls his mother, Tamara Copeland.
For a boy who was diagnosed at age 6 with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and who has struggled with school, that statement might seem unrealistic. But his mother is cautiously optimistic: Thanks to years of trial and error with medications and behavior-changing strategies, A.J. may well be turning a corner, she says. Though improvements have been "erratic," A.J.'s new attitude is a good sign, she says. "It says to me that he is beginning to understand he is part of controlling his destiny."
The Copelands and millions of other families have reason for hope as another challenging school year begins for children with the common disorder: According to a study updated this summer, most children treated for ADHD — whether with medication, behavioral therapy or both — do improve over time.
The roles of specific therapies and educational strategies remain unclear. Children who received medication, with frequent checkups to adjust doses and drug choices, did best in the first 14 months of the study. But that advantage waned by the three-year mark, according to a set of reports in the August Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
READ MORE @ USA TODAY
For a boy who was diagnosed at age 6 with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and who has struggled with school, that statement might seem unrealistic. But his mother is cautiously optimistic: Thanks to years of trial and error with medications and behavior-changing strategies, A.J. may well be turning a corner, she says. Though improvements have been "erratic," A.J.'s new attitude is a good sign, she says. "It says to me that he is beginning to understand he is part of controlling his destiny."
The Copelands and millions of other families have reason for hope as another challenging school year begins for children with the common disorder: According to a study updated this summer, most children treated for ADHD — whether with medication, behavioral therapy or both — do improve over time.
The roles of specific therapies and educational strategies remain unclear. Children who received medication, with frequent checkups to adjust doses and drug choices, did best in the first 14 months of the study. But that advantage waned by the three-year mark, according to a set of reports in the August Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
READ MORE @ USA TODAY
Saturday, July 28, 2007
PedMed: Multi-drug use questioned
Be it a sign of a growing dependency on drug treatments or increasing incidence of coexisting pediatric illnesses, the number of children taking multiple medications is rising at rates some deem unhealthy.
The National Center for Health Statistics reports some 3 million tykes and teens under 18 were taking three or more prescription drugs during the study month in 2002.
In some cases, youngsters suffer simultaneous conditions, so-called comorbidities, which call for separate medicines.
For example, studies show up to one in five children newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes may also have a psychiatric condition, including depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, developmental delay, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
READ MORE @ UPI
The National Center for Health Statistics reports some 3 million tykes and teens under 18 were taking three or more prescription drugs during the study month in 2002.
In some cases, youngsters suffer simultaneous conditions, so-called comorbidities, which call for separate medicines.
For example, studies show up to one in five children newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes may also have a psychiatric condition, including depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, developmental delay, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
READ MORE @ UPI
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