Khat use linked to psychiatric disorders

British researchers are calling for improved research into the stimulant plant khat and its possible association with psychiatric disorders.

Investigating the potential link between the African plant and mental illness is the first systematic review of the topic.

READ MORE @ SCENTA

Genetic variations may predispose some men to suicidal thoughts

Genetic variations may help explain why some men with depression develop suicidal thoughts and behaviors after they begin taking antidepressant medications, while most do not, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

Although most patients with depression respond favorably to antidepressant medications, a very small subgroup may experience worse symptoms after beginning treatment, according to background information in the article.

“Regardless of treatment specificity, nearly all antidepressant medication studies find that some patients experience suicidality after treatment initiation,” the authors write. “Identification of this subpopulation before treatment would have tremendous clinical utility.”

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Antipsychotic Medicine Inspires Tuberculosis Drug

The antipsychotic medication chlorpromazine (Thorazine) can be used to treat tuberculosis, but it causes terrible side effects. Scientists at SRI International are using this knowledge as a starting point to develop a new tuberculosis drug. Their challenge is to find a chemical that kills Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, without causing restlessness and uncontrollable jitters that are brought on by the antipsychotic medication.

READ MORE @ Wired News

Antipsychotic Drug Use in Older Adults with Dementia

Antipsychotic drugs are widely used to manage behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia despite concerns about their safety.

READ MORE @ Annals of Internal Medicine
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SSRIs and Birth Defects: More Data Urgently Needed

There is a problem out there for prospective mothers and fathers. The problem is that instead of being able to find good information on the interplay between SSRIs (a group of antidepressants including Zoloft, Paxil and Prozac) and safe pregnancy, there is a big black void.

READ MORE @ LAWYERS & SETTLEMENTS

Depression Risk Is Higher Among Battling Siblings

It could be that closeness with a sibling in childhood helps to develop skills in relating to peers that are taken into adult life or that lack of such closeness is an early sign of vulnerability to depression.

Poor sibling relationships in childhood may be an important and specific predictor of major depression in adulthood.

READ MORE @ Psychiatric News

Sildenafil Effective for SRI Associated Sexual Dysfunction

Depressed women with serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) antidepressant-associated sexual dysfunction are able to continue taking effective antidepressant treatment with sildenafil while avoiding sexual side effects.

READ MORE @ DOCTOR'S GUIDE

Consensus OCD Report Published

Leading international experts in obsessive compulsive disorder have published a new consensus report aimed at providing analysis and guidance to drive improved diagnosis and management of OCD worldwide.

Presented at The European Congress of Psychiatry, Madrid, 17-21 March 2007 and recently published in CNS Spectrums, the report has made a number of important recommendations including the removal of OCD from anxiety disorders to create its own category.

READ MORE @ PRNewswire

Early Response to Antidepressant Treatment Predicts Remission

Patients with depression who have an early response with certain symptoms are more likely to have a sustained remission, investigators reported here at the American Psychiatric Association 2007 Annual Meeting.

"At 2 weeks, the improvement on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) significantly predicted remission for key symptoms with both duloxetine and escitalopram," said principal investigator Martin Katz, PhD, clinical researcher, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas, United States.

"Improvements for depressed mood, anxiety, and somatic symptoms significantly predicted remission for both treatments," Dr. Katz said in his presentation on May 21st.

READ MORE @ DOCTOR'S GUIDE

Routine Metabolic Screening Is Necessary for Antipsychotic Treatment

Although antipsychotic treatment guidelines recommend routine metabolic screening, glucose and lipid profiles are not routinely being ordered at baseline by prescribing physicians in a patient population already at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of abnormal laboratory test results on the selection of atypical antipsychotic treatment for patients whose lipids and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were being measured.

READ MORE @ DOCTOR'S GUIDE

Iloperidone Results Show Favorable Akathisia Profile

According to study results presented today at the 2007 American Psychiatric Association annual meeting, iloperidone, an investigational atypical antipsychotic, was shown to have a favorable akathisia profile.

Akathisia is a debilitating sensation of restlessness that manifests as an inability to sit still is a frequent side effect of antipsychotic medications. Iloperidone is being studied by Vanda Pharmaceuticals.

READ MORE @ MEDICAL NEWS TODAY

Poor Understanding Called Biggest Barrier to Antipsychotic Drug Adherence

The most common reasons patients don't adhere to antipsychotic regimens are poor insight into the nature of their illness, forgetfulness, and simply deciding to stop, surveyed physicians said....

"The other thing that can happen is that individuals can be lulled into a false sense of security. When they're doing particularly well, they think that perhaps they don't need to take their medication," he said. "One can stop taking medication in an illness like schizophrenia and not necessarily notice a change immediately."

READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC TIMES

Psychiatrists Want More Effective Antipsychotics

Pharmacotherapy for schizophrenia may be better than it's ever been, but it's not nearly good enough.

In a nationwide survey of psychiatrists, 95% said that there is a need for new, highly effective drug options, said Peter Buckley, M.D., of the Medical College of Georgia.

READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC TIMES

Insomnia and Psychiatric Illness: Presented at APA

There is a prevalence of insomnia seen in psychiatric illness although insomnia itself can be a risk factor for psychiatric disorders. That's according to research presented here on at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

READ MORE @ DOCTOR'S GUIDE

Abilify helps as add-on depression treatment-study

Bristol-Myers Squibb's Abilify proved effective as an add-on therapy for patients suffering from major depression who were not getting satisfactory relief from their regular medication, according to a clinical study.

The drugmaker is hoping to use data from the study, which were presented on Monday at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting in San Diego, to broaden the approved uses for Abilify, which is also approved to treat bipolar disorder.

READ MORE @ REUTERS

Dosing Schedule Doesn't Matter for Antipsychotic Drug Adherence

Frequency of dosing of antipsychotic agents does not appear to affect medication adherence in most patients with schizophrenia, reported investigators here.

Patients who are stable on an antipsychotic agent are just as likely to adhere to their regimen whether the drug is prescribed once or twice daily, according to Paul Pfeiffer, M.D., and colleagues of the VA Center for Practice Management and Outcomes Research and the University of Michigan, both in Ann Arbor.

READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY

Objective Monitoring of Schizophrenic Patients Doesn't Measure Up

Psychiatrists need to do more objective measurement of the physical and mental health of their schizophrenic patients, researchers said here.Psychiatrists have been relying on clinical judgment, doing minimal medical record-keeping, and sometimes haphazard monitoring of physical consequences of antipsychotic medication for schizophrenic patients, according to a panel of speakers at an industry-funded satellite symposium here held in conjunction with the American Psychiatric Association.

That needs to change, both for the health of patients and to get ahead of pay-for-performance trends, said John M. Kane, M.D., of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC TIMES

Chemical Maps Hint At Drug's Effects On Schizophrenia

Antipsychotic drugs do most of their work in the brain, but they also leave behind in the bloodstream a trail of hundreds of chemicals that may be used in the future to direct better treatment for schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions, say Duke University Medical Center researchers.

READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY

Antidepressants Help More Kids Than They Harm

Whether depressed or troubled kids should take antidepressants has been the question at the center of an intense public debate in recent years, and the latest evidence suggests the answer is "yes."

A study in the April 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the benefits of antidepressants outweighed the risks for children and adolescents under the age of 19.

READ MORE @ WASHINGTON POST

Minorities prefer depression counseling to drugs

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When it comes to depression therapy, minorities are more likely than whites to prefer counseling to medication, according to a large U.S. survey.

In an Internet survey of about 75,000 Americans, researchers found that African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans were two to three times more likely than whites to say they'd rather be treated with talk therapy than with drugs for depression.

READ MORE @ REUTERS