Two drugs have emerged as the optimal medications for treating insomnia based on the "best-available evidence," but there are caveats. In a comprehensive comparative-effectiveness analysis, lemborexant and eszopiclone showed the best efficacy, acceptability, and tolerability for acute and long-term insomnia treatment. However, eszopiclone may cause substantial side effects — and safety data on lemborexant [...]
Whereas symptoms of depression are known to intensify in patients who have recently experienced an incident stroke, it might also be true in such cases that the depression actually starts to worsen in the months or years before the stroke occurs, suggests a new study of adults 50 years and older. "Stroke seems to [...]
Balovaptan, a novel drug that binds to and blocks vasopressin 1A (V1a) receptors, does not improve social communication in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), new research shows. Efficacy analysis from a phase 2 trial included more than 160 participants, making it the largest of its kind to date, investigators note. Although [...]
In a continuation of bad news for investigative Alzheimer's drugs, Roche has halted five early and midstage trials covering a range of therapeutic categories, including Alzheimer's drugs. The Swiss pharma admits that two of its most exciting prospects remain high-risk. The drugmaker also confirmed it had removed a phase 2 [...]
Sage and Biogen’s depression drug quickly relieved symptoms of depression in a phase 3 trial, but the readout did little to quell concerns about the med’s durability of effect, an issue that investors and analysts have been concerned about, according to a blog published today on Fierce Biotech. In the [...]
We are frequently consulted by patients with treatment resistant depression (TRD).Reference Fogelson and Leuchter1 Many of these patients have never met criteria for a manic episode so they are not diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BPD). Consequently, they have undergone trials of antidepressants with or without augmentation therapies without success.Reference Perlis, Uher [...]
No pharmacological agents are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat dementia-related psychosis (DRP). Pimavanserin, an atypical antipsychotic that acts as a selective serotonin inverse agonist/antagonist at 5-HT2A receptors (and to a lesser extent, at 5-HT2c receptors), is the only FDA-approved treatment for hallucinations and delusions associated with [...]
The federal government on Thursday proposed new guidelines for prescribing opioid painkillers that remove its previous recommended ceilings on doses for chronic pain patients and instead encourage doctors to use their best judgment. The new guidelines were reported in today's New York Times But the overall thrust of the recommendations [...]
Valid assessment of drug efficacy and safety requires an evidence base free of reporting bias. Using trial reports in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug approval packages as a gold standard, researchers, Turner, Cipriani, Furukawa, et al. previously found that the published literature inflated the apparent efficacy of antidepressant drugs. [...]
A group of researchers aimed to determine the risks of premature mortality and suicide in people with common noncommunicable diseases, with and without psychiatric disorder comorbidity. In this longitudinal study of over 1 million patients with chronic health diseases, researchers observed increased risks of all-cause and suicide mortality in individuals [...]