Archive for April, 2009

Psychotic in America

April 13th, 2009. By Evelyn Pringle

Last week, an FDA Advisory Committee voted against the approval of the atypical antipsychotic, Seroquel, to treat General Anxiety Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder in adults because the benefits of the drug for those indications did not outweigh the risks. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Emerging Issues | 2 Comments »

Another Shrink Bites The Dust

April 9th, 2009. By Evelyn Pringle

Brown University’s Martin Keller is the latest chairman of psychiatry to be replaced since an on-going investigation led by Iowa Republican, Senator Charles Grassley, on behalf of the US Senate Finance Committee revealed the millions of dollars in undisclosed payments flowing between psychiatric drug makers and “key opinion leaders” in the field of child psychiatry. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Drugs/Medical | 6 Comments »

States focus on limiting psychiatric drugging of kids

April 7th, 2009. By Evelyn Pringle

The Texas legislature is considering a bill that would require doctors to get prior approval before prescribing atypical antipsychotic drugs like Zyprexa, Risperdal, Invega, Abilify, Seroquel and Geodon to children under 11 who are covered by Medicaid in that state, the Dallas Morning News reported on April 1, 2009.The reports on Texas foster children in recent years provide evidence to support such a bill. For instance, in 2007, the top five most commonly prescribed psychotropic drugs to Texas foster children were Ritalin, Risperdal, Clonidine, Seroquel, and Adderall. These five alone accounted for half of the $37.9 million spent on psychiatric drugs for foster children in 2007, according to a report in the August 17, 2008 Dallas Morning News. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Emerging Issues | 4 Comments »