In the wake of the deaths of two persons in public psychiatric institutions - highlighting a pattern of abuse and neglect of those who have psychiatric disabilities - a national coalition of such individuals is calling on the incoming Obama administration and the nation's top mental health officials to institute widespread, substantive reforms in America's mental health treatment system. These would include raising standards and regulatory expectations, and identifying and funding pilot programs to demonstrate best practices in psychiatric emergency, inpatient and community-based care.
The death of Steven Sabock, a 50-year-old man diagnosed with bipolar disorder who died on April 29 in a North Carolina state psychiatric institution after he had choked on medication - while, nearby, hospital employees, ignoring his plight, entertained themselves with cards and TV - is just one example of the dangerous dysfunction of the public mental health system, said Dan Fisher, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations (NCMHCSO).
READ MORE @ MARKET WATCH
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Depression Treatment: Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy As Effective As Anti-depressant Medication, Study Suggests
Research shows for the first time that a group-based psychological treatment, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), could be a viable alternative to prescription drugs for people suffering from long-term depression.
In a study, published December 1, 2008 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, MBCT proved as effective as maintenance anti-depressants in preventing a relapse and more effective in enhancing peoples' quality of life. The study also showed MBCT to be as cost-effective as prescription drugs in helping people with a history of depression stay well in the longer-term.
The randomised control trial involved 123 people from urban and rural locations who had suffered repeat depressions and were referred to the trial by their GPs. The participants were split randomly into two groups. Half continued their on-going anti-depressant drug treatment and the rest participated in an MBCT course and were given the option of coming off anti-depressants.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
In a study, published December 1, 2008 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, MBCT proved as effective as maintenance anti-depressants in preventing a relapse and more effective in enhancing peoples' quality of life. The study also showed MBCT to be as cost-effective as prescription drugs in helping people with a history of depression stay well in the longer-term.
The randomised control trial involved 123 people from urban and rural locations who had suffered repeat depressions and were referred to the trial by their GPs. The participants were split randomly into two groups. Half continued their on-going anti-depressant drug treatment and the rest participated in an MBCT course and were given the option of coming off anti-depressants.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Treating depression seen important in heart failure
Depression increases the risk of death in patients with heart failure, but the risk apparently disappears with antidepressant use, according to a study.
"Recent studies suggest that the use of antidepressants may be associated with increased mortality (death) in patients with cardiac disease," Dr. Christopher M. O'Connor, of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues note in the medical journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
"Because depression has also been shown to be associated with increased mortality in these patients, it remains unclear if this association is attributable to the use of antidepressants or to depression."
The researchers therefore studied roughly 1,000 patients hospitalized for heart failure who were followed up annually. The authors prospectively collected data on depression status and use of antidepressants.
READ MORE @ REUTERS
"Recent studies suggest that the use of antidepressants may be associated with increased mortality (death) in patients with cardiac disease," Dr. Christopher M. O'Connor, of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues note in the medical journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
"Because depression has also been shown to be associated with increased mortality in these patients, it remains unclear if this association is attributable to the use of antidepressants or to depression."
The researchers therefore studied roughly 1,000 patients hospitalized for heart failure who were followed up annually. The authors prospectively collected data on depression status and use of antidepressants.
READ MORE @ REUTERS
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Ailing FDA May Need a Major Overhaul, Officials and Groups Say
The Obama administration will inherit a Food and Drug Administration widely seen as struggling to protect Americans from unsafe medication, contaminated food and a flood of questionable imports from China and other countries.
Shaken by a series of alarming failures, the FDA desperately needs an infusion of strong leadership, money, technology and personnel -- and perhaps a major restructuring, say former officials, members of Congress, watchdog groups and various government reports.
"Everywhere you go, you hear the same chorus: The agency's in trouble," said David A. Kessler, who served as FDA commissioner under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. "There's a general perception the agency is suffering mightily."
With nearly 11,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $2 billion, the FDA is charged with overseeing products that account for one-quarter of consumer spending in the United States, including over-the-counter and prescription medications, heart valves, stents and other medical devices, the blood supply, and food.
READ MORE @ WASHINGTON POST
Shaken by a series of alarming failures, the FDA desperately needs an infusion of strong leadership, money, technology and personnel -- and perhaps a major restructuring, say former officials, members of Congress, watchdog groups and various government reports.
"Everywhere you go, you hear the same chorus: The agency's in trouble," said David A. Kessler, who served as FDA commissioner under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. "There's a general perception the agency is suffering mightily."
With nearly 11,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $2 billion, the FDA is charged with overseeing products that account for one-quarter of consumer spending in the United States, including over-the-counter and prescription medications, heart valves, stents and other medical devices, the blood supply, and food.
READ MORE @ WASHINGTON POST
Friday, November 28, 2008
AP IMPACT: Govt pays for risky unapproved drugs
The government is paying millions for risky medications that have never been reviewed for safety and effectiveness but are still covered under Medicaid, an Associated Press analysis of federal data has found.
Taxpayers have shelled out at least $200 million since 2004 for such drugs. Yet the Food and Drug Administration says unapproved prescription drugs are a public health problem, and some unapproved medications have been linked to dozens of deaths.
Millions of private patients are taking them as well, and their availability may create a false sense of security.
The AP analysis found that Medicaid, which serves low-income people, paid nearly $198 million from 2004 to 2007 for more than 100 unapproved drugs. Data for 2008 were not available but unapproved drugs still are being sold. The AP checked the medications against FDA databases, using agency guidelines to determine if they were unapproved. The FDA says there may be thousands of such drugs on the market.
READ MORE @ AP
Taxpayers have shelled out at least $200 million since 2004 for such drugs. Yet the Food and Drug Administration says unapproved prescription drugs are a public health problem, and some unapproved medications have been linked to dozens of deaths.
Millions of private patients are taking them as well, and their availability may create a false sense of security.
The AP analysis found that Medicaid, which serves low-income people, paid nearly $198 million from 2004 to 2007 for more than 100 unapproved drugs. Data for 2008 were not available but unapproved drugs still are being sold. The AP checked the medications against FDA databases, using agency guidelines to determine if they were unapproved. The FDA says there may be thousands of such drugs on the market.
READ MORE @ AP
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Two Antidepressants Taken During Pregnancy Linked To Heart Anomalies In Babies
Women who took the antidepressant fluoxetine during the first three months of pregnancy gave birth to four times as many babies with heart problems as women who did not and the levels were three times higher in women taking paroxetine.
Although some of the conditions were serious, others were not severe and resolved themselves without the need for medical intervention, according to a three-country study in the November issue of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
Researchers have advised women taking the drugs to continue unless they are advised to stop by their doctor or consultant. But they are being urged to give up smoking, as the study also found that more than ten cigarettes a day was associated with a five-fold increase in babies with major heart problems.
The team has also suggested that women on fluoxetine should be given a foetal echocardiogram in their second trimester to diagnose possible heart anomalies.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Although some of the conditions were serious, others were not severe and resolved themselves without the need for medical intervention, according to a three-country study in the November issue of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
Researchers have advised women taking the drugs to continue unless they are advised to stop by their doctor or consultant. But they are being urged to give up smoking, as the study also found that more than ten cigarettes a day was associated with a five-fold increase in babies with major heart problems.
The team has also suggested that women on fluoxetine should be given a foetal echocardiogram in their second trimester to diagnose possible heart anomalies.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Study Calls for Greater Scrutiny of 'Off-Label' Drug Use Doctors often prescribe medicines for conditions that haven't been studied thoroughly
It's called "off-label" prescribing, and it's the common practice of doctors prescribing a drug to treat a disease or condition that's different from the one studied by federal regulators that led to the drug's approval in the first place.
Despite the scope of the practice, there's often little evidence that using a drug for an unapproved purpose is always beneficial or safe, a new study found.
The study by American researchers has identified 14 widely prescribed medications that they think need additional study to see how effective and safe they are for off-label use. Many of the drugs are antidepressants and antipsychotics.
"Off-label prescribing is not based on the same level of evidence as on-label prescribing," said study lead researcher Surrey Walton, an assistant professor of pharmacy administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Most patients aren't aware that once a drug is approved for one use, any doctor can prescribe it for any other use, Walton explained. Doctors may turn to a drug for off-label use, because studies or evidence suggest that it might benefit a patient with a disease or condition that was not studied when U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulators approved the drug in the first place.
READ MORE @ U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
Despite the scope of the practice, there's often little evidence that using a drug for an unapproved purpose is always beneficial or safe, a new study found.
The study by American researchers has identified 14 widely prescribed medications that they think need additional study to see how effective and safe they are for off-label use. Many of the drugs are antidepressants and antipsychotics.
"Off-label prescribing is not based on the same level of evidence as on-label prescribing," said study lead researcher Surrey Walton, an assistant professor of pharmacy administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Most patients aren't aware that once a drug is approved for one use, any doctor can prescribe it for any other use, Walton explained. Doctors may turn to a drug for off-label use, because studies or evidence suggest that it might benefit a patient with a disease or condition that was not studied when U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulators approved the drug in the first place.
READ MORE @ U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Psychiatric care's peril and profits
Lapses at , ., a major hospital chain with high earnings, have put patients at risk, regulators find. Some have even died.
Psychiatric Solutions Inc. was on its way to becoming the nation's leading provider of private psychiatric care when it snapped up Sierra Vista Hospital in Sacramento in mid-2005.
The company put its well-honed business formula into action: Staffing fell. Beds filled up. Profits soared.
It was a winning strategy for investors. But for some patients, federal records show, checking into Sierra Vista proved dangerous -- at times deadly.
READ MORE @ LOS ANGELES TIMES
Psychiatric Solutions Inc. was on its way to becoming the nation's leading provider of private psychiatric care when it snapped up Sierra Vista Hospital in Sacramento in mid-2005.
The company put its well-honed business formula into action: Staffing fell. Beds filled up. Profits soared.
It was a winning strategy for investors. But for some patients, federal records show, checking into Sierra Vista proved dangerous -- at times deadly.
READ MORE @ LOS ANGELES TIMES
Monday, November 24, 2008
Psychiatrists Give Mixed Reviews on ACP Antidepressant Guideline
A practice guideline on the use of second-generation antidepressants, issued here this week by the American College of Physicians, has earned cheers as well as jeers from psychiatrists.
"I don't see anything that's at variance with the American Psychiatric Association's [current] treatment guidelines or the ones that are in process now," said Alan Gelenberg, M.D., chair of the APA's working group on depression management and clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin.
The group is now revising the APA's guidelines on the topic.
"I just applaud them for taking depression seriously," Dr. Gelenberg added.
But a past chair of the group, T. Byram Karasu, M.D., of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who was lead author of the APA's existing depression guideline, slammed the ACP effort, calling it the "worst possible practice."
The ACP's guideline was based on a review of 203 clinical trials involving selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, and other antidepressants introduced in the last 20 years.
READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY
"I don't see anything that's at variance with the American Psychiatric Association's [current] treatment guidelines or the ones that are in process now," said Alan Gelenberg, M.D., chair of the APA's working group on depression management and clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin.
The group is now revising the APA's guidelines on the topic.
"I just applaud them for taking depression seriously," Dr. Gelenberg added.
But a past chair of the group, T. Byram Karasu, M.D., of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who was lead author of the APA's existing depression guideline, slammed the ACP effort, calling it the "worst possible practice."
The ACP's guideline was based on a review of 203 clinical trials involving selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, and other antidepressants introduced in the last 20 years.
READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY
Sunday, November 23, 2008
FDA Panel Slams Rising Antipsychotic Use In Kids
After a steady stream of reports that antipsychotics are increasingly prescribed to children, often for unapproved uses, such as treating attention deficit disorders (back story), an FDA advisory committee yesterday chastised the FDA for not doing more to discourage such prescribing.
For instance, more than 389,000 youngsters last year were given Johnson & Johnson’s Risperdal, and 240,000 were 12 or younger, The New York Times writes. Often, the drug was prescribed to treat attention deficit disorders, but Risperdal is not approved for that use and its risks - weight gain, metabolic disorders and possibly permanent muscular tics - aren’t justified, panel members said.
“This committee is frustrated,” Leon Dure, a pediatric neurologist from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and panel member, told the meeting. “And we need to find a way to accommodate this concern of ours.”
However, Tom Laughren, director of the FDA’s division of psychiatry products, told the panel that the agency could do little to fix the problem and, instead, pointed the finger at medical specialty societies, which he insisted must do a better job educating doctors about side effects.
READ MORE @ PHARMALOT
For instance, more than 389,000 youngsters last year were given Johnson & Johnson’s Risperdal, and 240,000 were 12 or younger, The New York Times writes. Often, the drug was prescribed to treat attention deficit disorders, but Risperdal is not approved for that use and its risks - weight gain, metabolic disorders and possibly permanent muscular tics - aren’t justified, panel members said.
“This committee is frustrated,” Leon Dure, a pediatric neurologist from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and panel member, told the meeting. “And we need to find a way to accommodate this concern of ours.”
However, Tom Laughren, director of the FDA’s division of psychiatry products, told the panel that the agency could do little to fix the problem and, instead, pointed the finger at medical specialty societies, which he insisted must do a better job educating doctors about side effects.
READ MORE @ PHARMALOT
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Federal Court Upholds Drug Privacy Law
A federal appeals court in Boston on Tuesday dealt a setback to the pharmaceutical industry and companies that collect prescription data for use in drug marketing.
Ruling in support of a New Hampshire law, the court upheld the right of states to prohibit the sale of doctor-specific prescription drug data that is widely used in pharmaceutical marketing.
The case is a defeat for two large data-mining companies, IMS Health and Verispan. They sued in 2006 to block implementation of the New Hampshire law, which prohibited the sale of computerized data showing which doctors were prescribing what drugs.
The law was intended to cut down on state health care costs by eliminating the tool used by drug sales representatives in promoting brand name drugs. By purchasing the data describing which doctors prescribe what drugs, pharmaceutical sales forces are better able to identify which doctors might use their products and be receptive to their sales pitches. They can also focus on persuading doctors who do not write many prescriptions for their products to change their minds.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Ruling in support of a New Hampshire law, the court upheld the right of states to prohibit the sale of doctor-specific prescription drug data that is widely used in pharmaceutical marketing.
The case is a defeat for two large data-mining companies, IMS Health and Verispan. They sued in 2006 to block implementation of the New Hampshire law, which prohibited the sale of computerized data showing which doctors were prescribing what drugs.
The law was intended to cut down on state health care costs by eliminating the tool used by drug sales representatives in promoting brand name drugs. By purchasing the data describing which doctors prescribe what drugs, pharmaceutical sales forces are better able to identify which doctors might use their products and be receptive to their sales pitches. They can also focus on persuading doctors who do not write many prescriptions for their products to change their minds.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Friday, November 21, 2008
Parity Law's Next Hurdle: Working Out Fine Print
Now that the country has a mental health parity law, advocates turn their attention to how it should be implemented and made as comprehensive as possible.
The extent to which the recently enacted mental health parity law (PL 110-343) will expand access to mental health care nationwide will be impacted by the reaction of insurance companies and employers to how the law is implemented and any additional costs that might arise from the benefit (see Experts Disagree Over Future of MH Care Spending).
Mental health advocates including APA, who have battled to improve insurance coverage for psychiatric illnesses since the 1970s, achieved a substantial victory when the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 was signed by President George W. Bush in October. The law requires health plans that offer mental health coverage to have the same benefits, copayments, and treatment limits as other types of health care (Psychiatric News, October 17 and November 7).
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC NEWS
The extent to which the recently enacted mental health parity law (PL 110-343) will expand access to mental health care nationwide will be impacted by the reaction of insurance companies and employers to how the law is implemented and any additional costs that might arise from the benefit (see Experts Disagree Over Future of MH Care Spending).
Mental health advocates including APA, who have battled to improve insurance coverage for psychiatric illnesses since the 1970s, achieved a substantial victory when the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 was signed by President George W. Bush in October. The law requires health plans that offer mental health coverage to have the same benefits, copayments, and treatment limits as other types of health care (Psychiatric News, October 17 and November 7).
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC NEWS
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
ADHD Medications Do Not Cause Genetic Damage in Children
In contrast to recent findings, two of the most common medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not appear to cause genetic damage in children who take them as prescribed, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Duke University Medical Center.
The study published online this month in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) provides new evidence that therapeutic doses of stimulant medications, such as methylphenidate and amphetamine, do not cause cytogenetic (chromosomal) damage in humans. The researchers looked at three measures of cytogenetic damage in white blood cells of each child participating in the study and found no evidence of any changes after three months of continuous treatment.
"This is good news for parents," said Kristine L. Witt, M.Sc., a genetic toxicologist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and co-author on the study, which was funded through the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act by NIEHS and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), both parts of NIH. "Our results indicate that methylphenidate- and amphetamine-based products do not induce cytogenetic damage in children."
READ MORE @ NIH
The study published online this month in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) provides new evidence that therapeutic doses of stimulant medications, such as methylphenidate and amphetamine, do not cause cytogenetic (chromosomal) damage in humans. The researchers looked at three measures of cytogenetic damage in white blood cells of each child participating in the study and found no evidence of any changes after three months of continuous treatment.
"This is good news for parents," said Kristine L. Witt, M.Sc., a genetic toxicologist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and co-author on the study, which was funded through the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act by NIEHS and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), both parts of NIH. "Our results indicate that methylphenidate- and amphetamine-based products do not induce cytogenetic damage in children."
READ MORE @ NIH
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Use of Antipsychotics in Children Is Criticized
Powerful antipsychotic medicines are being used far too cavalierly in children, and federal drug regulators must do more to warn doctors of their substantial risks, a panel of federal drug experts said Tuesday.
More than 389,000 children and teenagers were treated last year with Risperdal, one of five popular medicines known as atypical antipsychotics. Of those patients, 240,000 were 12 or younger, according to data presented to the committee. In many cases, the drug was prescribed to treat attention deficit disorders.
But Risperdal is not approved for attention deficit problems, and its risks — which include substantial weight gain, metabolic disorders and muscular tics that can be permanent — are too profound to justify its use in treating such disorders, panel members said.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
More than 389,000 children and teenagers were treated last year with Risperdal, one of five popular medicines known as atypical antipsychotics. Of those patients, 240,000 were 12 or younger, according to data presented to the committee. In many cases, the drug was prescribed to treat attention deficit disorders.
But Risperdal is not approved for attention deficit problems, and its risks — which include substantial weight gain, metabolic disorders and muscular tics that can be permanent — are too profound to justify its use in treating such disorders, panel members said.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Monday, November 17, 2008
Medication misuse
As people live longer and suffer from more chronic diseases, the risk of inappropriately using drugs or overmedicating increases among the elderly, says Susan Zieman, geriatric cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Most elderly people are on multiple medications and frequently metabolize drugs differently from younger people, she says. The drugs may build up in their systems and interact with other drugs in unexpected ways.
READ MORE @ BALTIMORE SUN
Most elderly people are on multiple medications and frequently metabolize drugs differently from younger people, she says. The drugs may build up in their systems and interact with other drugs in unexpected ways.
READ MORE @ BALTIMORE SUN
Sunday, November 16, 2008
In a Novel Theory of Mental Disorders, Parents’ Genes Are in Competition
Two scientists, drawing on their own powers of observation and a creative reading of recent genetic findings, have published a sweeping theory of brain development that would change the way mental disorders like autism and schizophrenia are understood.
The theory emerged in part from thinking about events other than mutations that can change gene behavior. And it suggests entirely new avenues of research, which, even if they prove the theory to be flawed, are likely to provide new insights into the biology of mental disease.
At a time when the search for the genetic glitches behind brain disorders has become mired in uncertain and complex findings, the new idea provides psychiatry with perhaps its grandest working theory since Freud, and one that is grounded in work at the forefront of science. The two researchers — Bernard Crespi, a biologist at Simon Fraser University in Canada, and Christopher Badcock, a sociologist at the London School of Economics, who are both outsiders to the field of behavior genetics — have spelled out their theory in a series of recent journal articles.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
The theory emerged in part from thinking about events other than mutations that can change gene behavior. And it suggests entirely new avenues of research, which, even if they prove the theory to be flawed, are likely to provide new insights into the biology of mental disease.
At a time when the search for the genetic glitches behind brain disorders has become mired in uncertain and complex findings, the new idea provides psychiatry with perhaps its grandest working theory since Freud, and one that is grounded in work at the forefront of science. The two researchers — Bernard Crespi, a biologist at Simon Fraser University in Canada, and Christopher Badcock, a sociologist at the London School of Economics, who are both outsiders to the field of behavior genetics — have spelled out their theory in a series of recent journal articles.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Saturday, November 15, 2008
SEROQUEL XR™ And SEROQUEL(R) Approved In Europe For New Indications For The Treatment Of Bipolar Disorder
AstraZeneca today announced that the once-daily formulation SEROQUEL XR™ (quetiapine fumarate extended release tablets) and SEROQUEL® (quetiapine fumarate) have been approved via the Mutual Recognition Procedure for new indications in bipolar disorder. SEROQUEL XR and SEROQUEL have been approved for treatment of major depressive episodes in bipolar disorder. Additionally, SEROQUEL XR has been approved for treatment of moderate to severe manic episodes in bipolar disorder.
This follows the October 2008 approval of SEROQUEL XR in similar indications by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As a result of these new indications for adult patients, SEROQUEL (both formulations) is currently the only atypical antipsychotic approved to treat the spectrum of mood episodes associated with bipolar disorder and the only licensed treatment for bipolar depression in the EU. The mechanism of action of SEROQUEL, which involves both antipsychotic and antidepressant activities, may help explain its unique efficacy across the spectrum of mood episodes associated with bipolar disorder.
READ MORE @ MEDICAL NEWS TODAY
This follows the October 2008 approval of SEROQUEL XR in similar indications by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As a result of these new indications for adult patients, SEROQUEL (both formulations) is currently the only atypical antipsychotic approved to treat the spectrum of mood episodes associated with bipolar disorder and the only licensed treatment for bipolar depression in the EU. The mechanism of action of SEROQUEL, which involves both antipsychotic and antidepressant activities, may help explain its unique efficacy across the spectrum of mood episodes associated with bipolar disorder.
READ MORE @ MEDICAL NEWS TODAY
Friday, November 14, 2008
Watch for depression in the elderly - Know the signs, step in if necessary
Experts are quick to say that depression isn't a normal part of aging, nor is it a sign of weakness.
But older family members who suffer from the condition may need your help to overcome those misconceptions and get treatment.
"In the elderly community, there is a lot of stigma still about depression and anxiety," said Dr. Greg Jicha, a neurologist at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. "People are very hesitant to seek out any kind of help for these sorts of things."
Jicha believes it's important for relatives to be alert to signs of depression in older people to help restore joy in their lives and keep them from entering nursing homes too early. He recommends raising a red flag with primary care physicians, who may otherwise miss the signs.
READ MORE @ LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL
But older family members who suffer from the condition may need your help to overcome those misconceptions and get treatment.
"In the elderly community, there is a lot of stigma still about depression and anxiety," said Dr. Greg Jicha, a neurologist at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. "People are very hesitant to seek out any kind of help for these sorts of things."
Jicha believes it's important for relatives to be alert to signs of depression in older people to help restore joy in their lives and keep them from entering nursing homes too early. He recommends raising a red flag with primary care physicians, who may otherwise miss the signs.
READ MORE @ LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Large Pharma Cos Shift Focus To Research, From Cost Cuts
Pharmaceutical executives, faced with generic competition and other challenges, have shifted their primary focus from cost-cutting campaigns to reinvigorating research efforts, a new survey suggests.
Some 66% of industry executives said reinvigorating research-and-development was their top strategic initiative, while 40% said "optimizing costs" was the top priority, according to the survey released Wednesday.
That's a shift from last year, when a survey by E&Y together with The Economist found that 92% of executives ranked cost reduction as their number one initiative. "Large pharmaceutical companies have been intensely focused on costs for the last two years and are moving beyond short-term reductions to longer- term strategic cost management," the new report said.
READ MORE @ CNN MONEY
Some 66% of industry executives said reinvigorating research-and-development was their top strategic initiative, while 40% said "optimizing costs" was the top priority, according to the survey released Wednesday.
That's a shift from last year, when a survey by E&Y together with The Economist found that 92% of executives ranked cost reduction as their number one initiative. "Large pharmaceutical companies have been intensely focused on costs for the last two years and are moving beyond short-term reductions to longer- term strategic cost management," the new report said.
READ MORE @ CNN MONEY
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Drugged-out seniors a prescription for disaster
They are the drugged-out generation, and they're not who you think they are.
They're 80. And 85 and 90 and 95 – overmedicated seniors clogging emergency departments, blocking hospital beds and sicker than they have any reason to be.
The Number 1 drug users in North America, outside of patients in long-term care facilities, are women over the age of 65. Twelve per cent are on 10 or more meds, sometimes up to 20 or more drugs; 23 per cent take at least five drugs. In long-term care, seniors are on six to eight medications, on average. Fifteen per cent of seniors admitted to hospital are suffering drug side effects. It's not uncommon to find seniors dizzy and dotty from being prescribed so many drugs.
"You'd fall down, too, if you were on so many drugs," says Dr. William Dalziel, a prominent Ottawa geriatrician.
Typically, overmedicated seniors have been seen by numerous specialists who have prescribed various medications to treat a host of chronic ailments – high blood pressure, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease, cancer – but there hasn't been any oversight by a geriatrician skilled in looking at the big picture and assessing contra-indications and side effects. Ask any doctor with expertise in seniors what their top health concerns are and they all cite overmedication.
read more @ THE TORONTO STAR
They're 80. And 85 and 90 and 95 – overmedicated seniors clogging emergency departments, blocking hospital beds and sicker than they have any reason to be.
The Number 1 drug users in North America, outside of patients in long-term care facilities, are women over the age of 65. Twelve per cent are on 10 or more meds, sometimes up to 20 or more drugs; 23 per cent take at least five drugs. In long-term care, seniors are on six to eight medications, on average. Fifteen per cent of seniors admitted to hospital are suffering drug side effects. It's not uncommon to find seniors dizzy and dotty from being prescribed so many drugs.
"You'd fall down, too, if you were on so many drugs," says Dr. William Dalziel, a prominent Ottawa geriatrician.
Typically, overmedicated seniors have been seen by numerous specialists who have prescribed various medications to treat a host of chronic ailments – high blood pressure, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease, cancer – but there hasn't been any oversight by a geriatrician skilled in looking at the big picture and assessing contra-indications and side effects. Ask any doctor with expertise in seniors what their top health concerns are and they all cite overmedication.
read more @ THE TORONTO STAR
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