Schizophrenia

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Schizophrenia

Daily Treatment Report

Cognitive Therapy-CBT-Psychotherapy

Supportive therapy for schizophrenia. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007)

Device Therapy

Drug Side-Effects and Interactions

Adverse effects of atypical antipsychotics : differential risk and clinical implications. (CNS Drugs. 2007)

Altered antioxidant defense system in clinically stable patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected siblings. (Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2007)

Cardiovascular effects of antipsychotics. (Expert Rev Neurother. 2007)

[Diabetes mellitus associated with atypical antipsychotic medications: case report and review of the literature] (Arq Bras Endocrinol Metabol. 2007) "The objective of this report is to raise the awareness of physicians treating psychiatric patients to the possibility of new-onset diabetes during therapy with atypical antipsychotic drugs and to emphasize the necessity for increased vigilance and close metabolic follow-up of these patients."

Sexual dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia on antipsychotic medication. (Eur Psychiatry. 2007) "CONCLUSION: Our results show that sexual dysfunction is widespread among patients with schizophrenia on antipsychotic medications."

Risk of death associated with the use of conventional versus atypical antipsychotic drugs among elderly patients (CMAJ 2007) "Interpretation: Among elderly patients, the risk of death associated with conventional antipsychotic medications is comparable to and possibly greater than the risk of death associated with atypical antipsychotic medications. Until further evidence is available, physicians should consider all antipsychotic medications to be equally risky in elderly patients."

Antipsychotic Drugs Exacerbate Impairment on a Working Memory Task in First-Episode Schizophrenia. (Biol Psychiatry. 2007) "CONCLUSIONS: Disruption in the allocation of covert attention might contribute to patients' decline in spatial working memory after antipsychotic treatment. Alterations in prefrontal dopaminergic systems or reduced thalamocortical drive might account for this apparent adverse cognitive effect of antipsychotic treatment."

Metabolic considerations in the use of antipsychotic medications: a review of recent evidence. (J Clin Psychiatry. 2007) "Considerable evidence indicates that mentally ill patients often do not receive adequate recognition of, monitoring of, or care for their medical illnesses. There is a critical need for psychiatrists and primary care professionals to increase awareness of and attention to the physical health problems of persons with mental illness, including appropriate management of metabolic adverse events associated with psychiatric medications."

The Roles of Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability in Antipsychotic Effectiveness: Practical Implications of the CATIE Schizophrenia Trial. (J Clin Psychiatry. 2007) "Except for clozapine, olanzapine clearly had the greatest metabolic side effect burden, and ziprasidone, the least. Perphenazine had the most motor side effects, although the rate was modest."

Managing the Side Effects of Clozapine

Research Reveals How Antipsychotic Drugs Cause Weight Gain "Histamine may help spur the weight gain seen in patients taking certain kinds of antipsychotic drugs, researchers say. In some cases, patients taking these drugs to treat mental illness gain so much weight that they develop serious complications such as heart disease and diabetes."

Management of sexual dysfunction due to antipsychotic drug therapy. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007) "BACKGROUND: Psychotropic drugs are associated with sexual dysfunction. Symptoms may concern penile erection, lubrication, orgasm, libido, sexual arousal or overall sexual satisfaction. … AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: We are not confident that crossover studies are appropriate for this participant group. Sildenafil may be a useful option in the treatment of antipsychotic-induced sexual dysfunction in men with schizophrenia, but this conclusion is based only on one small short trial. Further well designed, conducted and reported trials are urgently needed."

Psychomotor and Memory Effects of Haloperidol, Olanzapine, and Paroxetine in Healthy Subjects After Short-Term Administration. (J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007) " CONCLUSIONS:: Short-term administration of olanzapine, and not of haloperidol, impedes several aspects of psychomotor function and verbal memory in healthy volunteers."

Mother Wonders if Psychosis Drug Helped Kill Son "For many patients, the side effects of Zyprexa are severe. Connecting them to specific deaths can be difficult, because people with mental illness develop diabetes and heart disease more frequently than other adults. But in 2002, a statistical analysis conducted for Eli Lilly found that compared with an older antipsychotic drug, Haldol, patients taking Zyprexa would be significantly more likely to develop heart disease, based on the results of a clinical trial comparing the two drugs."

Drugs

The effectiveness of ziprasidone in treating impaired quality of life in schizophrenia: A 12-month, open-label, flexible-dose, naturalistic observational study of patients undergoing usual care. (Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2007)

Lithium for schizophrenia. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007)

Carbamazepine for schizophrenia. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007)

Risk of discontinuation of atypical antipsychotic agents in the treatment of schizophrenia. (Schizophr Res. 2007)

Treatment of Schizophrenia With Long-Acting Fluphenazine, Haloperidol, or Risperidone. (Schizophr Bull. 2007) "Conclusions: Patients treated with long-acting antipsychotic injections tend to have complex pharmacological regimens and recent medication nonadherence. A great majority of patients initiating long-acting antipsychotic medications discontinue use within the first few months of treatment."

Chlorpromazine versus placebo for schizophrenia. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007) "CONCLUSIONS: The results of this review confirm much that clinicians and recipients of care already know but aim to provide quantification to support clinical impression. Chlorpromazine's global position as a 'benchmark' treatment for psychoses is not threatened by the findings of this review. Chlorpromazine, in common use for half a century, is a well established but imperfect treatment. Judicious use of this best available evidence should lead to improved evidence-based decision making by clinicians, carers and patients."

[Benzodiazepines and schizophrenia, a review of the literature] (Encephale. 2006)

Benzodiazepines for schizophrenia. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007) "AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Randomised trial-derived evidence is currently too poor to recommend benzodiazepines neither as a sole nor as an adjunctive agent in schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like psychoses. The only significant effects were seen in terms of short-term sedation, at best. The evidence available on augmentation of antipsychotics with benzodiazepines is inconclusive and justifies large, simple and well-designed future trials focusing on clinical response, mental state, aggressive behaviour and adverse events."

Oral fluphenazine versus placebo for schizophrenia. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007) "AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The findings in this review confirm much that clinicians and recipients of care already know, but they provide quantification to support clinical impression. Fluphenazine's global position as an effective treatment for psychoses is not threatened by the outcome of this review. However, fluphenazine is an imperfect treatment and If accessible, other inexpensive drugs less associated with adverse effects may be an equally effective choice for people with schizophrenia."

Cessation of medication for people with schizophrenia already stable on chlorpromazine. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007) "AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: This review confirms clinical experience and quantifies the risks of stopping chlorpromazine medication for a group of people with schizophrenia who are stable on this drug. With its moderate adverse effects, chlorpromazine is likely to remain one of the most widely prescribed treatments for schizophrenia."

Early onset of treatment effects with oral risperidone. (MC Psychiatry. 2007)

Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs: Treating Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

Exercise

General Information

Understanding and treating "first-episode" schizophrenia. (Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2007)

Antipsychotic medication adherence in schizophrenia. (Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2007)

The Cutting Edge of Schizophrenia Treatment: An Expert Interview With Henry A. Nasrallah, MD

The importance of early treatment of schizophrenia. (Behav Healthc. 2007) "It is extremely important to treat schizophrenia as soon as possible after the onset. With delay in effective treatment, patients may be at increased risk for brain volume loss with adverse implications for long-term treatment outcomes. Providers should not try to "instruct" patients with schizophrenia, who often have impaired verbal learning abilities, about the necessity of adhering to their medication regimen, but instead should try to demonstrate that the treatment can effectively improve their lives."

Rationale for Emphasis on Management over Treatment of Schizophrenia in Clinical Practice (April). (Ann Pharmacother. 2007)

When Should Clozapine Be Initiated in Schizophrenia? : Some Arguments For and Against Earlier Use of Clozapine. (CNS Drugs. 2007)

Treating common psychiatric disorders associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. (Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2007)

Interventions to reduce weight gain in schizophrenia. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007)

Guidelines

Immunotherapy

Internet Sites

Treatment Information

Drug Information-Schizophrenia

DrugBank (drug structure)

FDA - MedWatch (Drug Alerts)

Drug-Food-Supplement Information

Drug Information Online

Drug Interaction Checker

DrugDigest (drug interactions)

FDA - Drug Interactions: What You Should Know

NIH - Botanical Dietary Supplements: Background Information

NIH - Drug, Supplements, and Herbal Information

NIH - Herbal Supplements: Consider Safety, Too

NIH - Medicines

NIH - Vitamin and Mineral Supplement Fact Sheets

Nutrition

Other

Other Treatments

Ayurvedic medicine for schizophrenia. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007)

Yoga therapy as an add-on treatment in the management of patients with schizophrenia - a randomized controlled trial. (Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2007)

Experimental

Radiotherapy

Supplements-Vitamins-CAM

The impact of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins E and C supplementation on treatment outcome and side effects in schizophrenia patients treated with haloperidol: An open-label pilot study. (Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2007)

[Evaluation of use of complementary and alternative medicine by schizophrenic patients.] (Forsch Komplementarmed. 2007)

High-dose Vitamin B6 Decreases Homocysteine Serum Levels in Patients With Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorders: A Preliminary Study. (Clinical Neuropharmacology 2007) "Conclusions: High doses of vitamin B6 lead to a decrease in Hcy serum level in male patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder."

Melatonin in schizophrenic outpatients with insomnia: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. (J Clin Psychiatry. 2007) "CONCLUSION: Melatonin may be a useful short-term hypnotic for schizophrenic patients with insomnia. Melatonin could be considered for patients in whom conventional hypnotic drug therapy or higher sedative antipsychotic drug doses may be problematic."

Surgery

Transplantation

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