http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay)—Medications taken by people with bipolar disorder may actually be nudging hundreds of genes that direct the brain to behave more normally, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-bipolar-disorder-drugs-tweak-genes.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:40:01 EST news286121506 (Medical Xpress)—Controlling the symptoms of schizophrenia is the job of antipsychotic drugs which block a set of specific neural signals. But the way these drugs work can lead to a host of severe and debilitating long-term motor side-effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-schizophrenia-treatments.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:12:35 EST news284361137 (Medical Xpress)—Widespread confusion about what constitutes grief, 'normaI' depression and clinical depression risks being exacerbated under the American Psychiatry Association's newest classification system, professor of psychiatry Gordon Parker warns. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-dsm-grief.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:52:21 EST news284197933 (Medical Xpress)—A new study from the University of Maryland (UM) found that use of antipsychotic drugs from 1997 to 2006 increased 7- to 12-fold in a Medicaid population of about 500,000 children ages two to 17. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-rapid-antipsychotic-treatment-medicaid-insured-children.html Psychology & Psychiatry Sat, 23 Mar 2013 03:10:02 EST news283225526 (HealthDay)—For people who don't fully respond to antidepressants, adding commonly prescribed antipsychotic drugs appears to be only slightly effective and is linked to unwelcome side effects, a new study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-antipsychotic-meds-depressio.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:54:11 EST news282333243 A study published this week in PLOS Medicine finds that while antipsychotic medications are associated with small-to-moderate improvements in depressive symptoms in adults, there is little evidence for improvement on measures of quality of life and these medications are linked to adverse events such as weight gain and sedation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-adjunctive-antipsychotic-medications-depression.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:00:07 EST news282323089 Antipsychotic administration in the elderly is associated with an increased risk for cerebrovascular accident, more commonly known as stroke; a new study published in Biological Psychiatry provides additional insight into this important relationship. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-elderly-antipsychotics-newly-linked-specific.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:23:12 EST news282223386 Drug companies spent nearly $84 million marketing pharmaceuticals in the District of Columbia in 2011, including an outlay of nearly $19 million for gifts given to physicians, hospitals and other health care providers, according to a report by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS). The report notes that 12 physicians in the District received gifts (including consulting payments) that totaled more than $100,000 apiece that one year alone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-pharmaceutical-companies-million-effort-district.html Medications Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:01 EST news281290180 Antipsychotic drugs, used in the treatment of psychotic disorders involving severe delusions and hallucinations, have been studied for more than 70 years. Currently available antipsychotic drugs, however, only alleviate certain symptoms, with results that vary greatly from patient to patient and frequently cause significant side effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-group-therapy-approach-psychosis-treatment.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:00:02 EST news278959578 A new review in The Cochrane Library finds that education and social support for staff and caregivers can reduce the use of antipsychotics in nursing home patients with dementia. Improved staff training and education, communication between personal and professional caregivers and support for everyone involved in the patient's care are effective non-pharmacological methods to try before using antipsychotic medications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-antipsychotic-drugs-nursing-home-patients.html Health Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:00:06 EST news274697316 In older adults, antipsychotic drugs are commonly prescribed off-label for a number of disorders outside of their Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indications – schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The largest number of antipsychotic prescriptions in older adults is for behavioral disturbances associated with dementia, some of which carry FDA warnings on prescription information for these drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-common-antipsychotic-drugs-lack-safety.html Medications Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:35:42 EST news273263701 (Medical Xpress)—The use of antidepressants doubled in Australia between 2000 and 2011 and they now account for two out of every three psychotropic medications prescribed, a new study by the University of Sydney reveals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-australians-antidepressants.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 16 Nov 2012 07:34:42 EST news272273670 (Medical Xpress)—More than one in four older veterans residing in U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Living Centers received antipsychotic medications, and more than 40 percent of those veterans had no documented evidence-based reason for use, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh and VA Pittsburgh Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-off-label-antipsychotic-drug-common-va.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 02 Nov 2012 08:26:15 EST news271063494 Results of a Johns Hopkins study suggest that individuals with schizophrenia are significantly more likely to live longer if they take their antipsychotic drugs on schedule, avoid extremely high doses and also regularly see a mental health professional. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-antipsychotic-drugs-life-individuals-schizophrenia.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 01 Nov 2012 04:38:45 EST news270963171 (HealthDay)—People with Alzheimer's disease who take the antipsychotic drug risperidone (Risperdal) to help curb their agitation and aggression may see a return of these troublesome symptoms if they stop taking the medication, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-alzheimer-antipsychotics.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:50:01 EST news269790397 (Medical Xpress)—A new study is shedding light on the use of sedative drugs in hospitals and has proven certain clinically used drug combinations to be faster and more effective in sedating highly aggressive patients in the emergency department (ED). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-antipsychotics-patient-sedation.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 09 Oct 2012 07:26:49 EST news268986398 The risk of death resulting from heart attack is higher in people with schizophrenia than in the general public, according to scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-people-schizophrenia-die-heart.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 03 Oct 2012 11:15:27 EST news268481698 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine may have discovered why certain drugs to treat schizophrenia are ineffective in some patients. Published online in Nature Neuroscience, the research will pave the way for a new class of drugs to help treat this devastating mental illness, which impacts one percent of the world's population, 30 percent of whom do not respond to currently available treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-drug-schizophrenia.html Neuroscience Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:25:28 EST news264075897 (HealthDay) -- Use of powerful antipsychotic medications such as Abilify and Risperdal to control youngsters with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other behavior problems has skyrocketed in recent years, a new study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-kids-antipsychotics-adhd.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:10:01 EST news263557347 A study that examined maternal use of antipsychotic drugs during pregnancy suggests that these medications may be linked to an increased risk of gestational diabetes, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-antipsychotic-drugs-pregnancy-linked-gestational.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:00:12 EST news260457136 (HealthDay) -- U.S. health officials said Wednesday that they're hoping to reduce the use of antipsychotic drugs among nursing home residents by 15 percent before year's end. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-antipsychotic-drug-nursing-homes.html Medications Wed, 30 May 2012 19:20:01 EST news257617023 Reducing the non-FDA-approved use of antipsychotic drugs may be a way to save money while having little effect on patient care, according to a Penn State College of Medicine study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-off-label-antipsychotic-medications-money.html Medications Tue, 15 May 2012 10:21:14 EST news256296062 It is increasingly recognized that chronic psychotropic drug treatment may lead to structural remodeling of the brain. Indeed, clinical studies in humans present an intriguing picture: antipsychotics, used for the treatment of schizophrenia and psychosis, may contribute to cortical gray matter loss in patients, whereas lithium, used for the treatment of bipolar disorder and mania, may preserve gray matter in patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-psychiatric-medication-effects-brain.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 08 May 2012 10:15:32 EST news255690834 Antipsychotic medications are increasingly prescribed in the US, but they can cause serious side effects including rapid weight gain, especially in children. In the first study of its kind, researchers at Zucker Hillside Hospital and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research identified a gene that increases weight gain in those treated with commonly-used antipsychotic drugs. These findings were published in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-gene-severe-weight-gain-antipsychotic.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 07 May 2012 16:00:12 EST news255613763 (HealthDay) -- A new study finds that antipsychotic drugs can help many people with schizophrenia, cutting patients' risk of relapse by 60 percent. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-antipsychotics-schizophrenia.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 03 May 2012 15:20:03 EST news255274744 Among 6-month-old infants, a history of intrauterine antipsychotic medication exposure was associated with significantly lower scores on a standard test of neuromotor performance, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-links-intrauterine-antipsychotic-medication-exposure.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:00:03 EST news252590368 Antipsychotic medication was associated with a modest and time-limited increased risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) among older patients treated with cholinesterase inhibitors for dementia, according to a study published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-antipsychotic-medication-modest-heart-older.html Cardiology Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:00:01 EST news251986267 Physicians who prescribe antipsychotic medications may be basing their decisions on incomplete information, according to new research published by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University. The study is published in PLoS Medicine, a peer-reviewed open-access journal published by the Public Library of Science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-bias-involving-psychiatric-medications-physicians.html Medications Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:00:12 EST news251480533 Patients with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses are commonly prescribed high dose combinations of antipsychotic drugs earlier than recommended by some guidelines, finds a new study in the March issue of General Hospital Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-antipsychotic-drug-combinations-patients-early.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:08:26 EST news251107694 (Medical Xpress) -- Twenty-nine pregnant women with a history of psychotic symptoms after previous deliveries, but not at other times, all remained stable without medication throughout their current pregnancies. Those who then began taking lithium or an antipsychotic within hours after delivery remained free of relapse after childbirth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-treatment-pregnant-women-high-postpartum.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 09 Mar 2012 08:40:56 EST news250504800