Medication news 2005

Treatment for mentally ill patients falls short (10/05/05)

Costly new medications for schizophrenia not necessarily more effective (09/25/05)

Seroquel an effective treatment option for aggression in patients with schizophrenia (06/23/05)

Study shows Geodon is as effective as Risperdal and also causes less side-effects (01/25/05)
Clozapine and olanzapine may increase the risk for diabetes (01/10/05)

Treatment of mentally ill patients falls short (10/05/05)
Despite large research efforts and the development of new drugs for schizophrenia, the treatment of schizophrenic patients today are still far from ideal. The matter was recently discussed in an article in the Houston Chronicle.
Source: Houston Chronicle, Sunday, October 2, 2005
Read more in article at www.chron.com

Costly new medications for schizophrenia not necessarily more effective (09/25/05)
New drugs for schizophrenia are no more effective than older, less expensive ones, according to an American study. The researchers found that all five of the new antipsychotic drugs that were evaluated counteracted symptoms of schizophrenias. But they also found that, at lower doses, perphenazine, a much older drug, was as effective as the newer medications, and was also associated with a lower risk of neurological side-effects.
Source: Wanadoo Jordan, Wednesday, September 21, and New England Journal of Medicine, v. 353(12), p. 1209-23, 2005
Read more in article at www.wanadoo.jo
PubMed abstract

Seroquel an effective treatment option for aggression in patients with schizophrenia (06/23/05)
A new study shows that the atypical antipsychotic drug seroquel (quetiapine) may be an effective treatment option for patients with schizophrenia who exhibit aggressive behaviour during psychotic episodes.
Source: Medical News Today, Saturday, June 18, and Human Psychopharmacology, v. 20(4), p. 237-41, 2005
Read more in article at www.medicalnewstoday.com
PubMed abstract

Study shows Geodon is as effective as Risperdal and also causes less side-effects (01/25/05)
A study shows that the atypical antipsychotic Geodon® (ziprasidone) is as effective as Risperdal® (risperidone). Geodon also causes less side-effects, like stiffness, rigidity, tremors and restlessness. It also has weaker effects on weight and the levels of prolactin, which can be associated with sexual dysfunction and menstrual irregularity.
Source: Doctor's Guide, Friday, January 21, and Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, v. 6158(18), 2005
Read more in article at www.docguide.com

Clozapine and olanzapine may increase the risk for diabetes (01/10/05)
The newer atypical antipsychotic agents have been linked to several forms of negative effects, including obesity, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic ketoacidosis, a severe complication of diabetes. In a study recently the researchers evaluated 36 non-obese outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who were treated with clozapine, olanzapine, or risperidone. The results show that nonobese clozapine- and olanzapine-treated groups displayed significant insulin resistance and impairment of glucose effectiveness compared with risperidone-treated subjects. The authors suggest that psychiatrists and primary care professionals should be aware that patients treated with clozapine and olanzapine may be at increased risk for insulin resistance and therefore should be be routinely screened.
Source: Kansas City infoZine, Wednesday, January 5, and Archives of General Psychiatry, v. 62(1), p. 19-28, 2005
Read more in article at www.infozine.com
PubMed abstract