Antidepressants Linked To Higher Risk of Complications After Surgery
Photo Researchers/Getty Images/Photo Researchers RM The most popular class of drugs used to treat depression, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may increase risk of bleeding and the need for blood transfusions following operations, according a study. Previous studies have investigated the dangers of SSRI use among pregnant women and possible associations with suicide among [...]
Mental health drug toll
Photo: Tasmanians are using more legally obtainable drugs such as aprazolam. (Lateline) A study has found Tasmania has the highest rate of drug-related mental health problems. The annual survey of Tasmanian drug users has also found the state’s drug culture is substantially different to other states. Researchers from the University of New South Wales surveyed 106 [...]
Anxiety a mental health disorder or part of human condition?
John Gass THIS is the age of anxiety, the era of the benzodiazepine Xanax – “all jumpy and edgy and short of breath,” as New York magazine puts it. Climate change, terrorism, recession – there’s something for everyone to worry about, and a medication or a book to go with it. But is anxiety a [...]
Can Tylenol Dissolve Feelings of Dread?
Getty Images / Getty Images Thinking about death, fearing the unknown and worrying about the future aren’t traditionally considered sources of physical pain, but they may be susceptible to the same pain-killing treatments. Tylenol (acetaminophen) isn’t the most obvious remedy for dread— unlike, say, heroin or a stiff drink, it isn’t known to provide the [...]
Key to antidepressant response uncovered
Through a series of investigations in mice and humans, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a protein that appears to be the target of both antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. Results of their experiments explain how these therapies likely work to relieve depression by stimulating stem cells in the brain to grow and mature. In addition, [...]
Depression treatment rates low but evenly spread
Disadvantaged Australians have equitable access to antidepressants, a study has found, but there is still an “unmet need” for depression treatment across the socioeconomic spectrum. Despite Australia’s universal healthcare system offering fair access to pharmacological solutions, overall depression levels are still not on par with treatment distribution. Almost 70% of disadvantaged and 87% of non-disadvantaged [...]
Trial to evaluate whether zolpidem reduces suicidal thinking in depressed
Researchers want to know whether a sleeping pill reduces suicidal thoughts in depressed patients with insomnia. “The more we look at it, the more it looks like insomnia by itself is a predictor of suicide so the next question becomes: Why not treat insomnia strategically as a focus of care and see if that reduces [...]
Are antidepressants overused?
Antidepressant prescriptions in the UK have increased by 9.6% in 2011, to 46 million prescriptions. Does this reflect overmedicalisation or appropriate treatment? Two experts debate the issue on bmj.com today. Glasgow GP, Dr Des Spence, thinks that “we use antidepressants too easily, for too long, and that they are effective for few people (if at [...]
Mindfulness meditation may relieve chronic inflammation
People suffering from chronic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and asthma — in which psychological stress plays a major role — may benefit from mindfulness meditation techniques, according to a study by University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientists with the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center. Mindfulness-based stress reduction, originally [...]
FDA requires sleep drugs that contain zolpidem to lower recommended doses
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it is requiring the manufacturers of Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar and Zolpimist, widely used sleep drugs that contain the active ingredient zolpidem, to lower current recommended doses. Ambien and Ambien CR are also available as generics. New data show that zolpidem blood levels in some patients may be [...]
