September 28th 2023
Exxua is approved to treat adults with major depressive disorder, but its labeling does not contain warnings about sexual function or weight gain.
September 14th 2022
Otsuka, Lundbeck Submit sNDA for Rexulti in Adolescents with Schizophrenia
October 15th 2021Submission is based on extrapolation analysis and results examining the effects of Rexulti in treating symptoms of schizophrenia in patients 13 to 17 years old. The FDA is expected to complete its review in December 2021.
Bouquets and Brickbats for FDA OK of Alzheimer's Drug Aduhelm
June 15th 2021The Alzheimer's Association praises the approval but not the price tag. A Harvard Medical School professor who resigned from an FDA advisory committee says the OK "was probably the worst approval decision in recent U.S. history" in his resignation letter.
Management of antipsychotic medication polypharmacy
June 13th 2013Within our healthcare-driven society, the increase in the identification and diagnosis of mental illnesses has led to a proportional increase in the prescribing of psychotropic medications. The prevalence of mental illnesses and subsequent treatment approaches may employ monotherapy as first-line treatment, but in many cases the use of combination of therapy can occur, leading to polypharmacy.1 Polypharmacy can be defined in several ways but it generally recognized as the use of multiple medications by one patient and the most common definition is the concurrent use of five more medications. The presence of polyharmacy has the potential to contribute to non-compliance, drug-drug interactions, medication errors, adverse events, or poor quality of life.
OIG report evaluates claims for atypical antipsychotic drugs prescribed to nursing home residents
May 20th 2011More than half of Medicare claims for atypical antipsychotic drugs are erroneous, amounting to $116 million, according to a 48-page report released May 4 by the Office of the Inspector General.
FDA warns of risks associated with the use of antipsychotic medications in pregnancy
April 1st 2011FDA recently announced that the 'Pregnancy' sections of labeling for all antipsychotic medications will now have to include wording about the potential risk for extrapyramidal side effects and withdrawal symptoms in newborns whose mothers were treated with these drugs during the third trimester of pregnancy.
Second-generation antidepressants similar in efficacy
December 1st 2008Second-generation antidepressants generally have equivalent efficacy, according to a review published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Although these agents demonstrate similar response rates, differences in onset of action or side effects may affect prescribing decisions.
Treatment with SSRIs or venlaxafine associated with increased risk of GI bleeding
August 1st 2008In a nested, case-control study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, investigators observed that the use of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) increased the risk of upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract bleeding; this increased risk was also observed with the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) venlafaxine. This risk may be increased when the agents are used concomitantly with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and decreased when used concomitantly with acid-suppressing agents.