Aripiprazole (Abilify) not approved for bipolar disorder

According to a press release, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) did not accept aripiprazole for the treatment of manic episodes in bipolar I disorder and for the prevention of  new manic episodes. According to the SMC, the manufacturer did not present a sufficiently robust economic analysis to gain acceptance. Psychiatrist Daniel Carlat from “The Carlat […]

Agomelatine (Valdoxan) for major depressive episodes

Agomelatine (Valdoxan, Melitor, Thymanax) is a recently marketed new drug for the treatment of major depression with a novel mechanism of action. It can be included in the class of  “other antidepressants”, or classified as a melatonergic drug. Mechanism of action Agomelatine acts as an agonist on melatonin MT1 and MT2 receptors. Additionally, it blocks […]

Analysis of antidepressants effectiveness in adolescents: InfoPOEMs podcast

Essential Evidence Plus, formerly InfoPOEMs is a service by John Wiley and Sons that aims to give physicians succinct medical evidence that will impact in their medical practice. In this podcast Dr. Ebell and Dr. Wilkes (National Public Radio) discuss the POEM titled: “Antidepressants only modestly effective for adolescent depression” Listen to the podcast on […]

Carbamazepine (Tegretol) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome: the manufacturer recommends genetic testing

  The manufacturer of carbamazepine (Tegretol) updated the drug’s summary of product characteristics: ‘Before deciding to initiate treatment, patients of Han Chinese and Thai origin should whenever possible be screened for HLA-B*1502 as this allele strongly predicts the risk of severe carbamazepine-associated Stevens-Johnson syndrome’ Health Canada warned in March 2008 about carbamazepine’s side effects in […]

NPS: Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) not superior to venlafaxine for major depressive disorder

The National Prescribing Service Limited (Australia) made an independent evaluation on the role of desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Summary: Desvenlafaxine is the active metabolite of venlafaxine. There is no evidence that desvenlafaxine is more effective, safer or better tolerated than venlafaxine or other antidepressants. Doses above 50 mg/day are unlikely […]

MCQs for USMLE review on psychopharmacology: antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, antidepressants and lithium

These pharmacology MCQs from the UMKC School of Medicine have a different degree of difficulty, but are useful to review pharmacology of psychotropics. Psychotropics Item Number: 11667 correct answer: 4 category: Psychotropics 1. The symptoms of tardive dyskinesia will acutely improve with: 1. administration of diphenhydramine 2. administration of amantadine 3. administration of bromocriptine 4. […]

Antidepressants podcast: comments on the latest ACP clinical guidelines

Essential Evidence Plus, formerly InfoPOEMs is a service by John Wiley and Sons that aims to give physicians succinct medical evidence that will impact in their medical practice. In this podcast Dr. Ebell and Dr. Wilkes (National Public Radio) discuss the POEM that analyzes the ACP guidelines (published in Annals of Internal Medicine) on antidepressants. […]

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA): the case of the serotonin hypothesis and SSRIs ads

I would like to recommend Pharmamotion readers one of the most popular articles in PLoS Medicine: Serotonin and Depression: A Disconnect between the Advertisements and the Scientific Literature. Jeffrey R. Lacasse, Jonathan Leo The article is a definitely a must read for those interested in direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) issues. However,for those who don’t have enough […]

Zonisamide (Zonegran): FDA warns about risk of metabolic acidosis and issues recommendations

The FDA issued an alert (February 23, 2009) about the risk of metabolic acidosis in patients treated with zonisamide (Zonegran). An excerpt from the alert on this anticonvulsant adverse effect: Following a review of updated clinical data,  the FDA has determined that treatment with zonisamide can cause metabolic acidosis in some patients.  Zonisamide is indicated […]

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