Psychiatry and Behavioral Health

June 13, 2013

Within 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.

August 01, 2012

A review of drug therapies and research presented at the 2012 Scientific Session of the American Diabetes Association.

July 01, 2012

A review of drug therapies and research presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association

May 20, 2011

More 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.

April 01, 2011

FDA 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.

April 01, 2011

Patients using brand-name or generic antidepressant medications to treat major depressive disorder have similar drug discontinuation rates and accrue comparable healthcare costs during the first 6 months of treatment, according to a study published in March 2011 in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy.

February 24, 2011

The rate of decline in the use of atypical antipsychotics in outpatients with dementia accelerated following a black box warning by FDA, according to a multicenter study of national Veterans Affairs data.

January 28, 2011

FDA has approved vilazodone HCl tablets (Viibryd, Clinical Data) for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder.

December 20, 2010

FDA has approved Lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse, Shire) capsules CII for the treatment of ADHD in adolescents aged 13 to 17 years.

October 01, 2009

New formulation: Guanfacine extended-release tablets (Intuniv) were approved on September 2, 2009, for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

August 18, 2009

Lundbeck and Solvay have announced that they are discontinuing development of bifeprunox for the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia.

August 18, 2009

Initiation of antipsychotic therapy associated with hyperglycemia in older diabetic patients

July 01, 2009

A matched, case-control analysis demonstrated an association between the use of stimulant medications (used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]) and sudden unexplained death in children and adolescents.

January 01, 2009

Agents in late-stage development for the treatment of depression and generalized anxiety disorder

December 01, 2008

Second-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.

August 01, 2008

In 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.

June 01, 2008

Iloperidone, a new-generation atypical antipsychotic, is currently under investigation for the treatment of schizophrenia. In 4 separate phase 3 trials, iloperidone has demonstrated efficacy in treating schizophrenia, with total Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) scores decreasing by a range of 8 to 14 points depending on the iloperidone dose.

June 01, 2008

Drugs in development for the treatment of bipolar disorder and psychosis

November 01, 2007

In 2 large, case-control studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), researchers demonstrated that, overall, a woman's use of a selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) in early pregnancy was not associated with significantly increased risks of congenital heart defects or most other types of birth defects.

October 01, 2007

FDA has approved a new indication for risperdal. The drug is now indicated for the treatment of schizophrenia in adolescents aged 13 to 17 years and for the short-term treatment of acute manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in children and adolescents aged 10 to 17 years.