Drug Alert Update

From Psychiatry Drug Alerts

July 2012 Issue

Periodicity we will be updating our blog with information about Psychiatric drugs we feel will be useful to our current and future patients. These updates are not medical advice and as always you should make sure to contact your health care professional with any concerns about your symptoms and current medications.

Olanzapine for PTSD

In a small manufacturer-sponsored study olanzapine (Zyprexa) monotherapy was superior to placebo in patients with non-combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder.

✅  Up to 40% of all patients with PTSD do not respond to SSRIs and SNRIs, the recommended first-line treatments.

Adjunctive Low-Dose Dextromethorphan in Schizophrenia

Risperidone (Risperdal) with adjunctive dextromethorphan was more effective than risperdone alone in a group of patients with schizophrenia. This and other observations from the study are consistent with the hypothesis that inflammation is the underlying mechanism of schizophrenia.

-Increasing evidence suggest abnormal peripheral and CNS cytokine levels, indicative of inflammatory activation, contribute to the neuronal damage and degeneration observed in patients with schizophrenia.

Metformin for Antipsychotic Side Effects in Women

Treatment with metformin reversed antipsychotic-induced amenorrhea and weight gain in a placebo-controlled trial of women with first-episode schizophrenia.

Lurasidone: Acute Efficacy

Lurasidone received FDA approval in 2010 for treatment of schizophrenia. Although similar to other second-generation antipsychotics, it has a somewhat different receptor profile and appears to cause fewer metabolic and OT effects as well as less weight gain. The approved starting dosage is 4mg/day, and the maximum recommended dosage at approval was 80mg/day.

Oxytocin: Potential Schizophrenia Treatment

The neurohormone oxytocin, synthesized in the hypothalamus,acts both centrally and peripherally, as both a neurotransmitter and as a homorne. Oxytocin receptors are located in a number of brain areas relevant to schizophrenia.

The oxytocin sytem interacts with other hormonal systems important in schizophrenia: estrogen, serotonin, dopamine and glutamate.

Several studies have demonstrated variations in central or peripheral levels of oxytocin or it’s carrier protein in patients with schizophrenia. Preclinical and clinical evidence strongly supports the potential for oxytocin to ameliorate social cognitive deficits of schizophrenia, which are poorly address in other treatments.

 

 

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