News tagged with 'Risperdal'

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. 

A new study suggests long-term use of antipsychotic drugs in patient’s that have Alzheimer’s disease nearly doubles their rate of death after one year, adding to safety concerns already known about this class of medications.

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. 

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.

In a routine pediatric safety review on Tuesday, an outside panel of experts unanimously requested more long-term data on the side effects of prescribing powerful antipsychotic drugs to children including Risperdal and Zyprexa.

Elderly patients who are given antipsychotic drugs for symptoms of dementia, are three times as likely to experience serious health problems or death within a month of use, compared to those patients not given the drugs, according to a published study by Canadian researchers.

A new study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that the antipsychotic drug Risperdal may be beneficial to children with autism. Researchers with the Yale Child Study Center tested the medication on 101 autistic children diagnosed with aggressive behavior and severe temper tantrums. By the