FDA Mandates Black Box Warning for Older Antipsychotics

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has mandated that all older antipsychotic drugs being used to treat dementia-related psychosis in the elderly carry a black box warning because these medications increase the risk of death.

Some of these older anti-psychotics include Haldol, Moban, and Navane. Additionally, in 2005, the FDA mandated all newer antipsychotic drugs to carry black box warnings for the same reasons.

The FDA asserted in a statement that both classes of antipsychotic drugs will carry a warning, stating antipsychotics have been shown to increase the risk of death in elderly patients being treated for dementia-related psychosis in clinical trials.

Although the FDA has not approved the use of antipsychotic medication for the treatment of dementia, doctors are allowed to prescribe the drugs as they feel is appropriate, according to U.S. law.

Source: MSNBC

"Special K" Reduces Depression

Do you suffer from depression? Have you had to try multiple anti-depressants to treat your depression? Have you found an anti-depressant that is effective to treat your depression yet? If you haven't, you're not alone. Many individuals have to try multiple medications for depression, and some people do not find any current anti-depressants effective at treating their depression. Of course, this adds to the feelings of hopelessness a depressed person feels. However, the results of a new study indicate a new kind of drug is effective for treating depression.

The results of this new study, which has been published in the Archives of General Psychiatry discovered that a night club drug known as "Special K" (ketamine) reduces depression. Thirty-three male participants were given ketamine, which is used as a horse tranquilizer, intravenously. The researchers also took minute-by-minute brain scans of the participants brains during the administration of the drug.

They discovered that ketamine restored a part of the brain that is overactive in individuals with depression back to normal, reducing depression in participants.

Certainly doctors and psychiatrists are not going to give depressed people ketamine for their symptoms, but this study does provide new information that can guide future research in creating new drugs to treat people with depression.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24428510/

Sleep Medication for Sleeping Problems

Did you try developing good sleep hygiene and you're still having trouble falling and/or staying asleep at night? Have you tried drinking warm milk, eating a small snack, writing in your journal, and/or reading before bed to help you fall asleep and it hasn't been helping, either?

If you're still having trouble falling and/or staying asleep at night, even after developing good sleep hygiene and trying some of the home remedies for getting to sleep, you may need to speak to your doctor about the possibility of taking sleep medication.

I know some people really do not like the idea of taking medication. However, the benefits of being well rested might outweigh the disadvantages of taking medication. Only you and your doctor can decide if sleep medication, also called sedatives or hypnotics, is a viable option for you.

You may need to try more than one sleep medication before you find the right hypnotic for a chronic sleeping problem. If this happens to be the case with you, don't lose hope. There are several different types of medication doctors can prescribe someone to help him or her sleep. While Ambien may work wonder for a friend of yours, it may not be the right medication for you. Everyone is different, and different medications work for different people.

Be sure to talk to your doctor about all of the symptoms you experience when you have trouble sleeping. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or both as well as whether you experience a lot of anxiety when you try to sleep. This information will help your doctor decide what medication may be most appropriate for your specific situation.

Primary Hypersomnia

Primary Hypersomnia is the opposite of Primary Insomnia. Primary Hypersomnia is constituted by excessive sleep or sleepiness. Individuals with hypersomnia sleep for extended periods of time or sleep frequently during the day. These symptoms must occur over a month's period of time for a diagnosis to be made.

Additionally, the hypersomnia must not be better accounted for by another mental illness, medical condition, or substance abuse.

Some of the medications used to treat hypersomnia include tricyclic anti-depressants, manoamine oxidase inhibitors, levadopa, modafinil, amantadine, and pemoline.

Sleep hygiene may also be useful for treating hypersomnia, though its success rate is lower than that of medical treatment.

In my next post, I will discuss sleep hygiene practices that may help with both insomnia and hypersomnia.