The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is cautioning physicians that certain types of antipsychotic drugs can boost the death risk of seniors with dementia.
Doctors sometimes use antipsychotics to help treat behavioral problems in demented patients.
But from now on these older, so-called "conventional" antipsychotics -- which include drugs such as thorazine and prolixin -- will carry a new black box warning alerting physicians of the danger, FDA officials announced Monday.
"We issued letters to all the manufacturers of antipsychotic drugs, both conventional and atypical, requiring them to update their labeling with new language for a box warning about an increased risk of death in elderly patients with dementia," Dr. Thomas Laughren, director of the FDA's Division of Psychiatry Products at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said during an afternoon teleconference.
This is a new warning for conventional antipsychotics, but it is not new for another class of the medications, called atypical antipsychotics. Back in 2005, the FDA ordered warning labeling for those medications, which include newer drugs such as Zyprexa and Risperdal. That labeling warned of a higher risk for heart attack and pneumonia for elderly patients with dementia who received atypical antipsychotics.
READ MORE @ WASHINGTON POST
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
ADD: not just child's play
Imagine you have to do something difficult like translating a document into ancient Greek. Not only that, but you have to do it in a room where the walls and ceiling are covered in television screens, each showing a different programme and on at full volume. At the same time, people are poking you with sharp sticks. When you ask to leave the room, all they say in reply is: "Just try harder."
This is how Garret Smyth, a British novelist with a degree in neuroscience, describes what it is like to live with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) - something he himself suffers from. Unable to concentrate, prone to annoying and impulsive behaviour, and incapable of following the instructions for filling in a tax return, it is, he says, scarcely surprising that many adult sufferers fail in their working or private lives, and succumb to depression. "Everyone knows someone who is late for everything, surrounded by huge piles of paper, who is thinking about 10 things instead of focusing on one. You can take a moral line - this person is hopeless - or you can decide the person needs help."
Between one and four per cent of children are believed to have AD(H)D. Hyperactivity (H) decreases as the brain matures. But the inability to concentrate can persist into adulthood. The idea that adults can have ADD is only just gaining acceptance and, at present, medication to deal with it is only licensed for children. That means treatment often comes to a sudden end at 18, and adults seeking help often report finding their GPs are dismissive. Adult ADD is currently being studied in centres in London, Cambridge, Canterbury and Swansea but elsewhere adults are forced to queue in clinics geared to children, sitting on tiny chairs among finger paintings. "That's humiliating," says Smyth.
READ MORE @ TELEGRAPH
This is how Garret Smyth, a British novelist with a degree in neuroscience, describes what it is like to live with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) - something he himself suffers from. Unable to concentrate, prone to annoying and impulsive behaviour, and incapable of following the instructions for filling in a tax return, it is, he says, scarcely surprising that many adult sufferers fail in their working or private lives, and succumb to depression. "Everyone knows someone who is late for everything, surrounded by huge piles of paper, who is thinking about 10 things instead of focusing on one. You can take a moral line - this person is hopeless - or you can decide the person needs help."
Between one and four per cent of children are believed to have AD(H)D. Hyperactivity (H) decreases as the brain matures. But the inability to concentrate can persist into adulthood. The idea that adults can have ADD is only just gaining acceptance and, at present, medication to deal with it is only licensed for children. That means treatment often comes to a sudden end at 18, and adults seeking help often report finding their GPs are dismissive. Adult ADD is currently being studied in centres in London, Cambridge, Canterbury and Swansea but elsewhere adults are forced to queue in clinics geared to children, sitting on tiny chairs among finger paintings. "That's humiliating," says Smyth.
READ MORE @ TELEGRAPH
Monday, June 16, 2008
Hunger hormone increases during stress, may have antidepressant effect
New research at UT Southwestern Medical Center may explain why some people who are stressed or depressed overeat.
While levels of the so-called "hunger hormone" ghrelin are known to increase when a person doesn't eat, findings by UT Southwestern scientists suggest that the hormone might also help defend against symptoms of stress-induced depression and anxiety.
"Our findings in mice suggest that chronic stress causes ghrelin levels to go up and that behaviors associated with depression and anxiety decrease when ghrelin levels rise. An unfortunate side effect, however, is increased food intake and body weight," said Dr. Jeffrey Zigman, assistant professor of internal medicine and psychiatry at UT Southwestern and senior author of a study appearing online today and in a future print edition of Nature Neuroscience.
Dr. Michael Lutter, instructor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern and lead author of the study, said, "Our findings support the idea that these hunger hormones don't do just one thing; rather, they coordinate an entire behavioral response to stress and probably affect mood, stress and energy levels."
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
While levels of the so-called "hunger hormone" ghrelin are known to increase when a person doesn't eat, findings by UT Southwestern scientists suggest that the hormone might also help defend against symptoms of stress-induced depression and anxiety.
"Our findings in mice suggest that chronic stress causes ghrelin levels to go up and that behaviors associated with depression and anxiety decrease when ghrelin levels rise. An unfortunate side effect, however, is increased food intake and body weight," said Dr. Jeffrey Zigman, assistant professor of internal medicine and psychiatry at UT Southwestern and senior author of a study appearing online today and in a future print edition of Nature Neuroscience.
Dr. Michael Lutter, instructor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern and lead author of the study, said, "Our findings support the idea that these hunger hormones don't do just one thing; rather, they coordinate an entire behavioral response to stress and probably affect mood, stress and energy levels."
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Mutation Related To ADHD Drug Metabolism Discovered
Researchers within the Darby Children’s Research Institute at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have discovered a gene mutation directly involved in the metabolism of the most common and perhaps most known medication used to treat ADHD, methylphenidate (MPH), or Ritalin. The discovery may open the door to pre-testing of patients for the appropriate ADHD medication, instead of having to undergo trial and error.
It’s not unusual for scientists to focus their work in one direction, only to discover something unexpected. Researchers within the Darby Children’s Research Institute at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have discovered a gene mutation directly involved in the metabolism of the most common and perhaps most known medication used to treat ADHD, methylphenidate (MPH), or Ritalin®. This research is described in full detail in the June 2008 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
It’s not unusual for scientists to focus their work in one direction, only to discover something unexpected. Researchers within the Darby Children’s Research Institute at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have discovered a gene mutation directly involved in the metabolism of the most common and perhaps most known medication used to treat ADHD, methylphenidate (MPH), or Ritalin®. This research is described in full detail in the June 2008 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Saturday, June 14, 2008
GlaxoSmithKline faces US scrutiny over Paxil suicide link
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the UK's largest drug maker, is facing new scrutiny in America in the wake of a British government inquiry that found the company withheld data on the suicide risk of an antidepressant.
A US senator today asked the food and drug administration (FDA), the agency that regulates American pharmaceuticals, to follow its UK counterpart in probing whether GSK concealed clinical trial evidence.
"If the company engaged in this behaviour in the UK, then I want to make sure that the same didn't happen here in the US," Grassley said.
"The FDA should investigate this question thoroughly and be forthcoming about its findings."
The drug in question - Paxil, marketed in the UK as Seroxat - has been the subject of suicide warnings since 2003, when the British government told doctors not to prescribe it to young adults. A warning to that effect was added to its US labels in 2006.
In responding to the UK conclusion that GSK failed to inform authorities of Paxil's suicide risk, Grassley quoted the Guardian's report on imminent British legislation requiring drug companies to promptly publicise clinical trial data.
READ MORE @ THE GUARDIAN
A US senator today asked the food and drug administration (FDA), the agency that regulates American pharmaceuticals, to follow its UK counterpart in probing whether GSK concealed clinical trial evidence.
"If the company engaged in this behaviour in the UK, then I want to make sure that the same didn't happen here in the US," Grassley said.
"The FDA should investigate this question thoroughly and be forthcoming about its findings."
The drug in question - Paxil, marketed in the UK as Seroxat - has been the subject of suicide warnings since 2003, when the British government told doctors not to prescribe it to young adults. A warning to that effect was added to its US labels in 2006.
In responding to the UK conclusion that GSK failed to inform authorities of Paxil's suicide risk, Grassley quoted the Guardian's report on imminent British legislation requiring drug companies to promptly publicise clinical trial data.
READ MORE @ THE GUARDIAN
Friday, June 13, 2008
Antidepressants Alone: Not For Bipolar Depression
Psychiatrists have cautioned against the use of antidepressants alone in people with bipolar disorders, saying they could worsen a patient's condition by causing a destabilisation in mood.
Dr Ajeet Singh and Professor Michael Berk, consultant psychiatrists from the University of Melbourne, state in the current edition of Australian Prescriber that the goal of treatment in bipolar disorder is to stabilise mood, and antidepressants may defeat this purpose if they are not taken with other drugs.
"Patients may need an antidepressant, but this must be taken with a mood-stabilising drug. Antidepressants place patients at risk of switching to elevated phases of the disorder and rapid cycling patterns," they say in the article.
Patients should not simply be left on antidepressants long term without review, say the authors, as there is no good evidence of efficacy in the maintenance phase. If symptoms of elevated mood emerge, the patient should have their dose of the antidepressant reduced or stopped.
READ MORE @ MEDICAL NEWS TODAY
Dr Ajeet Singh and Professor Michael Berk, consultant psychiatrists from the University of Melbourne, state in the current edition of Australian Prescriber that the goal of treatment in bipolar disorder is to stabilise mood, and antidepressants may defeat this purpose if they are not taken with other drugs.
"Patients may need an antidepressant, but this must be taken with a mood-stabilising drug. Antidepressants place patients at risk of switching to elevated phases of the disorder and rapid cycling patterns," they say in the article.
Patients should not simply be left on antidepressants long term without review, say the authors, as there is no good evidence of efficacy in the maintenance phase. If symptoms of elevated mood emerge, the patient should have their dose of the antidepressant reduced or stopped.
READ MORE @ MEDICAL NEWS TODAY
Thursday, June 12, 2008
ADA: Metabolic Monitoring Guidelines for Antipsychotics Largely Unheeded
Recommendations for lipid and glucose monitoring for patients on atypical antipsychotic drugs have made scarcely a dent on clinical practice, researchers found.
Metabolic screening and monitoring rates rose by 5% or less since 2004, when the FDA warned of increased diabetes and cardiovascular risk with antipsychotic medications, according to two separate analyses of large insurance claim databases reported here at the American Diabetes Association meeting.
Only about 20% of patients on second-generation antipsychotics received recommended glucose monitoring and just 10% had lipids monitored, reported Dan W. Haupt, M.D., of Washington University in St. Louis, and colleagues in one of the studies.
Changes in screening rates were no better than, and in some cases worse, for patients starting antipsychotics than for other commercially-insured patients, found Elaine Morrato, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., of the University of Colorado in Denver, and colleagues in the other study.
READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY
Metabolic screening and monitoring rates rose by 5% or less since 2004, when the FDA warned of increased diabetes and cardiovascular risk with antipsychotic medications, according to two separate analyses of large insurance claim databases reported here at the American Diabetes Association meeting.
Only about 20% of patients on second-generation antipsychotics received recommended glucose monitoring and just 10% had lipids monitored, reported Dan W. Haupt, M.D., of Washington University in St. Louis, and colleagues in one of the studies.
Changes in screening rates were no better than, and in some cases worse, for patients starting antipsychotics than for other commercially-insured patients, found Elaine Morrato, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., of the University of Colorado in Denver, and colleagues in the other study.
READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan turning to anti-depressants in record numbers
Overwhelmed by the horrors and rigours of war, American troops are turning to prescription anti-depressants in record numbers.
America is facing accusations that it is maintaining the troop strength of its overstretched forces through a quiet policy of plying soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan with prescription drugs.
The numbers of American servicemen on medications such as Prozac and Zoloft in combat zones now exceeds 20,000.
Critics claim a regulatory sleight of hand by service chiefs triggered the explosion in drug use. In November, 2006 the military issued a fresh order banning the use of older drugs, including lithium, anticonvulsants and antipsychotics, but omitted new generation of psychotropic medicine.
READ MORE @ TELEGRAPH
America is facing accusations that it is maintaining the troop strength of its overstretched forces through a quiet policy of plying soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan with prescription drugs.
The numbers of American servicemen on medications such as Prozac and Zoloft in combat zones now exceeds 20,000.
Critics claim a regulatory sleight of hand by service chiefs triggered the explosion in drug use. In November, 2006 the military issued a fresh order banning the use of older drugs, including lithium, anticonvulsants and antipsychotics, but omitted new generation of psychotropic medicine.
READ MORE @ TELEGRAPH
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
With Precautions, Psychiatrists Need Not Shun off-Label Prescribing
Fear of lawsuits should not stop psychiatrists from prescribing medications for off-label indications as long as they make patient-centered decisions based on evidence and talk to patients about risks and benefits.
By focusing on patient care and providing appropriate informed consent, consultation-liaison psychiatrists can protect themselves from liability lawsuits regarding the use of antipsychotics and other medications for indications not approved by the Food and Drug Administratio (FDA). So said experts who led a workshop for consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatrists at APA's 2008 annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in May.
Off-label use includes prescribing medications not only for unapproved indications, but also for unapproved dosages and patient populations, some of which may be subject to specific warnings by the FDA, said Ramaswamy Viswanathan, M.D. He is the director of the C-L Psychiatry Department at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Intravenous infusion of haloperidol and the use of antipsychotics to treat dementia-related agitation are only two notable examples.
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC NEWS
By focusing on patient care and providing appropriate informed consent, consultation-liaison psychiatrists can protect themselves from liability lawsuits regarding the use of antipsychotics and other medications for indications not approved by the Food and Drug Administratio (FDA). So said experts who led a workshop for consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatrists at APA's 2008 annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in May.
Off-label use includes prescribing medications not only for unapproved indications, but also for unapproved dosages and patient populations, some of which may be subject to specific warnings by the FDA, said Ramaswamy Viswanathan, M.D. He is the director of the C-L Psychiatry Department at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Intravenous infusion of haloperidol and the use of antipsychotics to treat dementia-related agitation are only two notable examples.
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC NEWS
Monday, June 9, 2008
Researchers Fail to Reveal Full Drug Pay
A world-renowned Harvard child psychiatrist whose work has helped fuel an explosion in the use of powerful antipsychotic medicines in children earned at least $1.6 million in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007 but for years did not report much of this income to university officials, according to information given Congressional investigators.
By failing to report income, the psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Biederman, and a colleague in the psychiatry department at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Timothy E. Wilens, may have violated federal and university research rules designed to police potential conflicts of interest, according to Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa. Some of their research is financed by government grants.
Like Dr. Biederman, Dr. Wilens belatedly reported earning at least $1.6 million from 2000 to 2007, and another Harvard colleague, Dr. Thomas Spencer, reported earning at least $1 million after being pressed by Mr. Grassley’s investigators. But even these amended disclosures may understate the researchers’ outside income because some entries contradict payment information from drug makers, Mr. Grassley found.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
By failing to report income, the psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Biederman, and a colleague in the psychiatry department at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Timothy E. Wilens, may have violated federal and university research rules designed to police potential conflicts of interest, according to Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa. Some of their research is financed by government grants.
Like Dr. Biederman, Dr. Wilens belatedly reported earning at least $1.6 million from 2000 to 2007, and another Harvard colleague, Dr. Thomas Spencer, reported earning at least $1 million after being pressed by Mr. Grassley’s investigators. But even these amended disclosures may understate the researchers’ outside income because some entries contradict payment information from drug makers, Mr. Grassley found.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Experts Analyze Real Meaning of CATIE Study Findings
Despite the finding that SGAs are on average only marginally more efficacious than an FGA, perphenazine, most experts emphasize that what is true for "the average" patient may be not be best for the individual patient.
Science without the industry spin. That's the idea behind a series of nine papers appearing as a special section in the May issue of the APA journal Psychiatric Services looking at the results of the landmark Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention effectiveness (CATIE).
Prior to the appearance of the first CATIE study results in the New England Journal of Medicine (September 22, 2005), the superiority of second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) over first-generation antipsychotics (FGA) was widely considered a given. Though the trial pitted a proxy FGA, perphenizine, against five SGAs, the primary question for many was which SGA was most efficacious.
So when results showed that, with the exception of clozapine, SGAs had only marginal superiority over perphenazine, the response from quarters with vested interests was not tepid; the pharmaceutical industry was loudest in attacking CATIE on methodological grounds.
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC NEWS
Science without the industry spin. That's the idea behind a series of nine papers appearing as a special section in the May issue of the APA journal Psychiatric Services looking at the results of the landmark Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention effectiveness (CATIE).
Prior to the appearance of the first CATIE study results in the New England Journal of Medicine (September 22, 2005), the superiority of second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) over first-generation antipsychotics (FGA) was widely considered a given. Though the trial pitted a proxy FGA, perphenizine, against five SGAs, the primary question for many was which SGA was most efficacious.
So when results showed that, with the exception of clozapine, SGAs had only marginal superiority over perphenazine, the response from quarters with vested interests was not tepid; the pharmaceutical industry was loudest in attacking CATIE on methodological grounds.
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC NEWS
Saturday, June 7, 2008
New research explores role of serotonin
Findings provide insight into clinical disorders characterised by low serotonin level, such as depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and severe anxiety
New research by scientists at the University of Cambridge suggests that the neurotransmitter serotonin, which acts as a chemical messenger between nerve cells, plays a critical role in regulating emotions such as aggression during social decision-making.
Serotonin has long been associated with social behaviour, but its precise involvement in impulsive aggression has been controversial. Though many have hypothesised the link between serotonin and impulsivity, this is one of the first studies to show a causal link between the two.
Their findings highlight why some of us may become combative or aggressive when we haven't eaten. The essential amino acid necessary for the body to create serotonin can only be obtained through diet. Therefore, our serotonin levels naturally decline when we don't eat, an effect the researchers took advantage of in their experimental technique.
The research also provides insight into clinical disorders characterised by low serotonin levels, such as depression and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and may help explain some of the social difficulties associated with these disorders.
This research, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council, suggests that patients with depression and anxiety disorders may benefit from therapies that teach them strategies for regulating emotions during decision making, particularly in social scenarios.
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
New research by scientists at the University of Cambridge suggests that the neurotransmitter serotonin, which acts as a chemical messenger between nerve cells, plays a critical role in regulating emotions such as aggression during social decision-making.
Serotonin has long been associated with social behaviour, but its precise involvement in impulsive aggression has been controversial. Though many have hypothesised the link between serotonin and impulsivity, this is one of the first studies to show a causal link between the two.
Their findings highlight why some of us may become combative or aggressive when we haven't eaten. The essential amino acid necessary for the body to create serotonin can only be obtained through diet. Therefore, our serotonin levels naturally decline when we don't eat, an effect the researchers took advantage of in their experimental technique.
The research also provides insight into clinical disorders characterised by low serotonin levels, such as depression and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and may help explain some of the social difficulties associated with these disorders.
This research, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council, suggests that patients with depression and anxiety disorders may benefit from therapies that teach them strategies for regulating emotions during decision making, particularly in social scenarios.
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
Friday, June 6, 2008
Antipsychotics May Improve Psychiatric Symptoms In Alzheimer's Disease
Psychiatric and behavioral symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease-such as anger, agitation, aggression, and paranoid thoughts and ideas-may improve with the use of second-generation antipsychotic medications, a new federally funded study has found. Improvements were seen both in global measures and in measures of specific symptoms. In addition, the analysis indicates that particular symptoms may respond better to different second-generation antipsychotic medications.
The new analysis of data from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness-Alzheimer's Disease (CATIE-AD), funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, will be published online ahead of print by The American Journal of Psychiatry (AJP), the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association. The report will appear online1 under AJP in Advance on June 2, and will appear in print in the July issue of AJP.
READ MORE @ MEDICAL NEWS TODAY
The new analysis of data from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness-Alzheimer's Disease (CATIE-AD), funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, will be published online ahead of print by The American Journal of Psychiatry (AJP), the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association. The report will appear online1 under AJP in Advance on June 2, and will appear in print in the July issue of AJP.
READ MORE @ MEDICAL NEWS TODAY
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Eating And Weight Gain Not Necessarily Linked, Study Shows
You may not be what you eat after all. A new study shows that increased eating does not necessarily lead to increased fat. The finding in the much-studied roundworm opens the possibility of identifying new targets for drugs to control weight, the researchers say.
The discovery reveals that the neurotransmitter serotonin, already known to control appetite and fat build-up, actually does so through two separate signaling channels. One set of signals regulates feeding, and a separate set of signals regulates fat metabolism. The worm, known scientifically as Caenorhabdtis elegans, shares half of its genes with humans and is often a predictor of human traits.
The signaling pathways are composed of a series of molecular events triggered by neurons in the brain that ultimately "instruct" the body to burn or store fat.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
The discovery reveals that the neurotransmitter serotonin, already known to control appetite and fat build-up, actually does so through two separate signaling channels. One set of signals regulates feeding, and a separate set of signals regulates fat metabolism. The worm, known scientifically as Caenorhabdtis elegans, shares half of its genes with humans and is often a predictor of human traits.
The signaling pathways are composed of a series of molecular events triggered by neurons in the brain that ultimately "instruct" the body to burn or store fat.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
£1.2M trial to test effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy
Study to map effectiveness of CBT for patients who have not responded to antidepressants
A team of researchers, led by Dr Nicola Wiles at the University of Bristol and involving researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in the South West, has been awarded £1.2 million by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme for a clinical trial to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for patients with depression who do not respond to treatment with antidepressants.
Patients who have been taking antidepressants for at least six weeks will be invited to participate in the trial and receive either CBT in addition to their medication, or continue with usual care from their general practitioner (including medication). Both groups will be followed up for 12 months to see which approach is the most effective in reducing depressive symptoms and improving quality of life. Recruitment for the trial is due to start in the autumn.
The Bristol team, in partnership with researchers from the University of Exeter, the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Glasgow and the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership, will also evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the treatment and patients' views and experiences of it.
Dr Nicola Wiles said: "CBT has been shown to help patients with depression but there is currently little evidence about what alternative treatment options doctors should discuss with patients who do not get better with antidepressants. Improving access to psychological therapies is a Government priority, so it is important that we conduct studies such as this to help inform the care of people with depression."
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
A team of researchers, led by Dr Nicola Wiles at the University of Bristol and involving researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in the South West, has been awarded £1.2 million by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme for a clinical trial to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for patients with depression who do not respond to treatment with antidepressants.
Patients who have been taking antidepressants for at least six weeks will be invited to participate in the trial and receive either CBT in addition to their medication, or continue with usual care from their general practitioner (including medication). Both groups will be followed up for 12 months to see which approach is the most effective in reducing depressive symptoms and improving quality of life. Recruitment for the trial is due to start in the autumn.
The Bristol team, in partnership with researchers from the University of Exeter, the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Glasgow and the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership, will also evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the treatment and patients' views and experiences of it.
Dr Nicola Wiles said: "CBT has been shown to help patients with depression but there is currently little evidence about what alternative treatment options doctors should discuss with patients who do not get better with antidepressants. Improving access to psychological therapies is a Government priority, so it is important that we conduct studies such as this to help inform the care of people with depression."
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The Growing Evidence for Antidepressants as Anticancer Agents
Prostaglandins are infinitesimal, ephemeral lipid signalers in every cell in the body, and regulating every activity that takes place within a cell. As regulators of cellular activity, prostaglandins influence how cells are formed and what part of the body the cell will become. lithium are vital for cellular growth, health, and replication. Prostaglandins regulate the normal life cycle of a cell, knowing when each cell must be repaired and when each one is beyond repair and has reached the end of its cycle.
Laboratory animal experiments in the 1960s demonstrated a powerful influence of prostaglandins on the brains of the animals and birds. Subsequent experiments showed that lithium and every antidepressant tested inhibit prostaglandins. Excessive synthesis of prostaglandins activates a number of mechanisms that result in cancer. Cancer cells grow too fast and multiply too rapidly. They aren’t repaired and don’t die at the end of their cycle. Excessive synthesis of prostaglandins disrupts the signaling mechanisms in which cells communicate with each other. It hinders optimum performance of the immune system, weakening it and turning it against itself. The weakened immune system allows cancer cells to thrive. About 20% of cancers are caused by pathogenic, or disease-causing, microbes. By inhibiting prostaglandins, lithium and antidepressants stimulate immune function and defeat microbes.
READ MORE @ MED HEADLINES
Laboratory animal experiments in the 1960s demonstrated a powerful influence of prostaglandins on the brains of the animals and birds. Subsequent experiments showed that lithium and every antidepressant tested inhibit prostaglandins. Excessive synthesis of prostaglandins activates a number of mechanisms that result in cancer. Cancer cells grow too fast and multiply too rapidly. They aren’t repaired and don’t die at the end of their cycle. Excessive synthesis of prostaglandins disrupts the signaling mechanisms in which cells communicate with each other. It hinders optimum performance of the immune system, weakening it and turning it against itself. The weakened immune system allows cancer cells to thrive. About 20% of cancers are caused by pathogenic, or disease-causing, microbes. By inhibiting prostaglandins, lithium and antidepressants stimulate immune function and defeat microbes.
READ MORE @ MED HEADLINES
Monday, June 2, 2008
Drugs to Grow Your Brain - Compounds that trigger the growth of new brain cells might help treat depression.
Drugs that encourage the growth of new neurons in the brain are now headed for clinical trials. The drugs, which have already shown success in alleviating symptoms of depression and boosting memory in animal models, are being developed by BrainCells, a San Diego-based start-up that screens drugs for their brain-growing power. The company hopes the compounds will provide an alternative to existing antidepressants and says they may also prove effective in treating cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer's.
"The fact that you might be able to take small molecules to stimulate specific cells to regenerate in the brain is paradigm-shifting," says Christopher Eckman, a neuroscientist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. "[This approach] takes advantage of the body's innate ability to correct itself when given appropriate cues." Eckman studies compounds that boost brain cell growth in models of neurodegenerative disease and is not involved with BrainCells.
READ MORE @ TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
"The fact that you might be able to take small molecules to stimulate specific cells to regenerate in the brain is paradigm-shifting," says Christopher Eckman, a neuroscientist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. "[This approach] takes advantage of the body's innate ability to correct itself when given appropriate cues." Eckman studies compounds that boost brain cell growth in models of neurodegenerative disease and is not involved with BrainCells.
READ MORE @ TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Brain pacemakers show promise against depression in 1st tests
Some worst-case patients - whose illness isn't relieved by medication, psychotherapy, shock treatment - get lasting relief
It's a new frontier for psychiatric illness: brain pacemakers that promise to act as antidepressants by changing how patients' nerve circuitry fires.
Scientists already know the power of these devices to block the tremors of Parkinson's disease and related illnesses; more than 40,000 such patients worldwide have the implants.
But psychiatric illnesses are much more complex, and the new experiments with deep brain stimulation, or DBS, are in their infancy. Only a few dozen patients with severe depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder so far have been treated in closely monitored studies.
Still, the early results are promising. Dramatic video shows one patient visibly brightening as doctors turn on her brain pacemaker and she says in surprise: "I'm starting to smile." And new reports this month show that some worst-case patients - whose depression wasn't relieved by medication, psychotherapy or even controversial shock treatment - are finding lasting relief.
READ MORE @ SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
It's a new frontier for psychiatric illness: brain pacemakers that promise to act as antidepressants by changing how patients' nerve circuitry fires.
Scientists already know the power of these devices to block the tremors of Parkinson's disease and related illnesses; more than 40,000 such patients worldwide have the implants.
But psychiatric illnesses are much more complex, and the new experiments with deep brain stimulation, or DBS, are in their infancy. Only a few dozen patients with severe depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder so far have been treated in closely monitored studies.
Still, the early results are promising. Dramatic video shows one patient visibly brightening as doctors turn on her brain pacemaker and she says in surprise: "I'm starting to smile." And new reports this month show that some worst-case patients - whose depression wasn't relieved by medication, psychotherapy or even controversial shock treatment - are finding lasting relief.
READ MORE @ SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Study suggests antidepressants for stroke victims
Doctors may want to give stroke victims antidepressants right away instead of waiting until they develop depression, a common complication, new research suggests.
The findings may lead to an expanded use for antidepressants. Someday high-risk people like stroke patients might take the drugs before suffering depression — just as people now take cholesterol drugs to prevent heart attacks, the lead author said.
The researchers gave low doses of the antidepressant Lexapro to stroke patients. The patients on the drug were 4.5 times less likely to develop depression than patients taking a dummy pill.
More than 700,000 Americans suffer strokes each year and more than one-third will develop depression in the next two years. Stroke patients with depression recover more slowly and are more likely to die, according to previous research.
"We showed you could in fact prevent the development of depression after stroke," said Dr. Robert Robinson of the University of Iowa who led the study. "I hope I don't have a stroke, but if I do, I would certainly want to be placed on an antidepressant."
READ MORE @ ASSOCIATED PRESS
The findings may lead to an expanded use for antidepressants. Someday high-risk people like stroke patients might take the drugs before suffering depression — just as people now take cholesterol drugs to prevent heart attacks, the lead author said.
The researchers gave low doses of the antidepressant Lexapro to stroke patients. The patients on the drug were 4.5 times less likely to develop depression than patients taking a dummy pill.
More than 700,000 Americans suffer strokes each year and more than one-third will develop depression in the next two years. Stroke patients with depression recover more slowly and are more likely to die, according to previous research.
"We showed you could in fact prevent the development of depression after stroke," said Dr. Robert Robinson of the University of Iowa who led the study. "I hope I don't have a stroke, but if I do, I would certainly want to be placed on an antidepressant."
READ MORE @ ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday, May 30, 2008
U.S. Army suicides rise 13 percent
The number of U.S. Army suicides increased again last year amid the most violent year yet in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
An army official said Thursday that 115 troops committed suicide in 2007, an increase of almost 13 percent over the previous year's 102. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because a full report on the deaths was not being released until later.
About a quarter of the deaths occurred in Iraq.
The 115 confirmed deaths among active duty soldiers and National Guard and Reserve troops that had been activated was a lower number than previously feared. Preliminary figures released in January showed as many as 121 troops might have killed themselves, but some of the deaths were still under investigation then and have been attributed since to other causes, the officials said.
READ MORE @ INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
An army official said Thursday that 115 troops committed suicide in 2007, an increase of almost 13 percent over the previous year's 102. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because a full report on the deaths was not being released until later.
About a quarter of the deaths occurred in Iraq.
The 115 confirmed deaths among active duty soldiers and National Guard and Reserve troops that had been activated was a lower number than previously feared. Preliminary figures released in January showed as many as 121 troops might have killed themselves, but some of the deaths were still under investigation then and have been attributed since to other causes, the officials said.
READ MORE @ INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
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