Resource Tag: PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS

In this study, 479 patients received clozapine & 477 patients received olanzapine. Concomitant psychotropic medications were grouped into 4 classes: antipsychotics, antidepressants, sedatives/anxiolytics, & mood stabilizers. An analysis of covariance was performed to compare mean daily doses of concomitant psychotropic medications between the 2 groups over the 2-year treatment period. For each class, the mean […]

Symptoms associated with suicidality in bipolar I patients were identified & suicide risk during treatment with olanzapine in combination with lithium or divalproex was assessed. Data were used from a previous study in which patients with bipolar I manic or mixed-episode who were partially responsive to at least 2 weeks of lithium or divalproex monotherapy […]

In this letter to the editor, the authors discuss a cross-national study they did to examine the relationship between elderly suicide rates & the affordability of psychotropic medications. Contrary to earlier reports which found a decline in elderly suicide rates with an increase in prescription rates of antidepressants, an absence of correlation between the affordability […]

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This extensive report examines psychopharmacological, psychosocial, & combined interventions for childhood disorders. Interventions are discussed by disorder, including: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; oppositional defiant disorder & conduct disorder; Tourette & tic disorders; obsessive-compulsive disorder; anxiety disorders; depressive disorders & suicidality; bipolar disorders; schizophrenia spectrum disorder; autism spectrum disorder; eating disorders; & elimination disorders. Conclusions & recommendations are […]

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Background Psychiatric treatment of suicidal youths is often difficult and non-compliance in treatment is a significant problem. This prospective study compared characteristics and changes in cognitive functioning, self image and psychosocial functioning among 13 to 18 year-old adolescent psychiatric inpatients with suicide attempts (n = 16) and with no suicidality (n = 39) Methods The […]

A case-control study was conducted to investigate the relevance of criminal history, psychiatric morbidity, & social integration to suicide in Austrian prisons. Of 250 recorded suicides, 220 personal files were available & matched to 440 controls. The most important predictors for suicide in custody were a history of suicidality, psychiatric diagnosis, psychotropic medication, a highly […]

The goals of this study were to estimate the prevalence of psychotic symptoms among adults attending an urban general medical practice that serves a low-income population & to describe the mental health, social & occupational functioning, & mental health treatment of these patients. 210 patients (20.9% of the sample) reported 1 or more psychotic symptoms. […]

This article briefly reports that on June 22, 2004, the FDA & manufacturer of paroxetine notified health professionals of revisions in the warning & precaution sections of the package insert, including the alert of possible worsening of depression in both adults & pediatric patients who are taking the drug.

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Published in “The Suicidal Process: Challenges for Treatment and Prevention”

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This brief historical overview of bipolar disorder addresses diagnosis, treatment, cost, creativity, suicide, & stigma through a review of the literature. This essay served as the introduction to the 27th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists. (51 refs)

The authors present new data & review clinical experience that indicate that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) often exerts a profound short-term beneficial effect on suicidality. They argue that little, if any, evidence supports a long-term positive effect of ECT on suicide rates. They also find that on the whole, the published reports are weakened by methodological […]

This study examined clozapine’s effect on the reduction of suicidal behavior in chronic schizophrenic patients. 44 patients with chronic DSM-IV schizophrenia were treated with clozapine or haloperidol decanoate in a 6-month trial. Changes in measures of suicidality, impulsiveness, aggression, depressed mood, & positive & negative symptoms were assessed at baseline & 6 months. Findings suggest […]

Suicidal adolescent out-patients were compared with non-suicidal subjects with respect to background factors, psychopathology and treatment received. According to polychotomous regression, mood disorder, previous psychiatric treatment and low level of psychosocial functioning at treatment entry were associated with suicide attempts and with suicidal ideation for both sexes. Further findings and implications for treatment of suicidal […]

This study examined the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and associated factors in an elderly population. In total, it was found that 13.3% of the subjects assessed had had suicidal thoughts during two weeks prior to being interviewed. 50% of those who had frequent suicidal thoughts were found to be depressed. In addition, suicidal thoughts were […]

The aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with the past history of suicide attempts in high-dose regular benzodiazepine (BZD) users (HDRUs). 55 HDRUs were compared to matched controls. Using logistic regression analysis, it was found that only comorbid borderline personality disorder (BPD), not high-dose BZD use, was independently associated with a […]

Drug related deaths were examined for Cuyahoga County, Ohio, a metropolitan area that includes the city of Cleveland. From 1965-1980, 1095 overdose deaths were seen across a range of psychoactive substances. Suicidal overdoses (49.6%; N=505) were most frequent for persons who were older, white, female, and residents of areas outside the City of Cleveland. The […]

This study’s main objective was to identify patient characteristics, particularly psychiatric diagnosis associated with the use of over-the-counter medications in intentional overdose. Findings suggest that suicide-prone patients with a diagnosis of substance abuse & who possess prescription medications are unlikely to use over-the-counter medications in overdose. For this cohort, this represents a relatively small proportion […]