News tagged with 'Bipolar Disorder'

Valproic acid (Depakote) is prescribed to control the seizures of epilepsy, but for pregnant women the drug can cause birth defects if taken in the first trimester.

Atypical antipsychotics used in young patients for the first time led to a weight gain of anywhere from 11 to 19 pounds in just 11 weeks and an increase in cholesterol and triglycerides, making some question whether the drugs are a long-term solution for young people with psychiatric disorders.

While Risperdal is already approved for use in adolescents, three other makers of powerful atypical anti-psychotics are seeking FDA approval for use in the young.  The drugs are effective in some, but others say they can be fatal and are known to cause weight gain and increase the risk of diabetes. 

When Florida began requiring physicians to obtain approval from the state before prescribing antipsychotics to children under the age of six, something dramatic happened - prescriptions dropped 75 percent. The same trend is being seen nationwide. 

Seroquel, the antipsychotic, will have a further safety review by advisers brought in by the FDA because the drug is known to produce symptoms of tardive dyskinesia, a metabolic effect that causes involuntary movements, lip smacking, and grimacing.  Diabetes is a known side effect and the subject of thousands of lawsuits currently underway.

Seroquel litigation is heating up and internal company documents show AstraZeneca cherry picked what information it wanted released about the antipsychotic, while downplaying any link to diabetes.

When it comes to antidepressants – Zoloft and Lexapro are at the top of the treatment list of a dozen medications. Italian researchers studied the records of 25,000 patients, and reviewed 117 studies.  Patient advocates say don't give up hope of finding help. 

If schizophrenia runs in a family, bipolar disorder most likely does as well (and vice versa), suggests new research. A new study, published online in the January issue of the journal The Lancet, suggests both disorders share common genetic causes.

Patients taking a newer group of atypical antipsychotics are twice as likely to suffer sudden cardiac failure and death as nonusers, according to a newly published study in the New England Journal of Medicine.  The newer atypicals were thought to be safer than the older medications. An editorial says they are all overprescribed.

Hoping to continue the success of its blockbuster antipsychotic drug, Zyprexa, Eli Lilly has suffered a setback in its request for FDA approval of a longer-lasting formulation. Zyprexa is mired in controversy about the side effects and allegations that Lilly withheld important safety information.  

Dr. Joseph Biederman, the father of child psychiatry, is suspended from participating in clinical trials while Harvard University and its teaching hospital, Massachusetts General, probe his conflicting interests with the pharmaceutical industry. At issue - why he failed to report $1.6 million from Big Pharma while his work with children promoted drug use. 

The controversial drug, Seroquel, will have additional application to treat depression in adults if the drug maker AstraZeneca receives approval from the FDA. Seroquel use has been linked to diabetes, and two serious complications known as Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome and Tardive Dyskinesia. 

More information is surfacing about conflicting interests involving a Harvard psychiatrist, renowned for promoting antipsychotics, and the research center that bears the name of Johnson & Johnson, which he heads.

The producer of the science radio program, "The Infinite Mind," says he had no idea his host had a consulting arrangement with the pharmaceutical industry he occasionally reported on. That is a violation of his contract, which the producer has posted for everyone to see.

It's long been known that drug makers offer attractive consulting agreements to doctors and researchers, now Sen. Charles Grassley uncovers a conflict between drug makers and a science/health radio host for NPR, whose show has now been taken off the air.