First generation typical antipsychotics (e.g. chlorpromazine and haloperidol) have historically been used a great deal to treat people with schizophrenia. More recently, second-generation atypical antipsychotics (e.g. risperidone and olanzapine) have been more frequently used. For many, these drug therapies help to reduce psychotic episodes and the overall impact of the illness, but not all patients [read the full story…]
The British Association for Psychopharmacology regularly publish consensus guidelines on the pharmacological treatment of mental health conditions. In the last two years these publications have included guidance on insomnia (PDF), dementia (PDF) and bipolar disorder (PDF). The latest guideline from the BAP is on the pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia and as usual it’s available in full-text [read the full story…]
It has been widely reported that antipsychotics have been frequently used to treat the behavioural and psychological symptoms that affect people with dementia and that this course of action has resulted in an estimated 1,800 excess strokes and 1,600 excess deaths in the UK alone. This double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled randomised trial looks at one of the [read the full story…]
Researchers from Oxford and Verona have published a major new meta-analysis in the Lancet, which measures the effectiveness of all anti-manic drugs. The review team searched and found 68 randomised controlled trials from 1980-2010 (a total of 16,073 patients). The study includes a range of antipsychotics and mood stabilisers used at a therapeutic dose range [read the full story…]
This cross-sectional study used a postal questionnaire to find out if there are regional differences in the attitudes of doctors and nurses to antipsychotic polypharmacy and the use of clinical guidelines. A survey was sent to 2 pairs of treatment settings in Denmark, characterized by low and high prevalence of antipsychotic polypharmacy, respectively. The questionnaire [read the full story…]
This year long study carried out by Medical Decision Modeling in Indianapolis set out to measure the cost-effectiveness of the olanzapine long-acting injection with other antipsychotic long-acting injections and oral olanzapine in treating patients with schizophrenia who had trouble adhering to oral drug treatment. The study used a micro-simulation economic decision model to replicate usual care. [read the full story…]
Atypical antipsychotic medications, sometimes described as second generation (for example clozapine, risperidone) have been associated with a number of side effects amongst which is weight gain. The authors of this review point out that such weight gain can be significant in people with learning disabilities using such medications. Previous studies have shown that majority of people [read the full story…]
There is a need for a rapid-acting, non-injection, acute treatment for agitation in people with schizophrenia. This randomised (double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group) controlled trial set out to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of inhaled loxapine for acute treatment of agitation in schizophrenia. The researchers recruited 344 adults with DSM-IV schizophrenia who were in good general health [read the full story…]
The Dementia Commissioning Pack provides practical resources for health and social care commissioners to work together to improve the quality of both specialist dementia services and general health and care services for people with dementia and their carers. The pack has been developed in consultation with a range of health and social care experts, including [read the full story…]
Antipsychotics are widely used for the management of behavioural problems in people with learning disability, despite concerns about the lack of a good evidence base for this practice (see Cochrane review) The researchers in this study set out to audit clinical practice of prescribing anti-psychotics against standards of good practice. The authors collected data from [read the full story…]
