The Times
Ben Quinn
The number of British children being given controversial anti-psychotic drugs has increased sharply, according to research.
As many as 3,000 children were administered the unlicensed drugs between 1996 and 2005, despite concerns from experts that they could cause long-term harm and even death.
Doctors gave out twice as many prescriptions for the [...]
April 7, 2008
3,000 children were given unlicensed anti-psychotic drugs despite safety fears
April 7, 2008
Anti-psychotics may speed Alzheimer’s decline
USA TODAY
By Kathleen Fackelmann
April 7, 2008
Anti-psychotic drugs frequently used in nursing homes to treat aggression in Alzheimer’s patients don’t provide any benefit and seem to lead to a marked decline in verbal ability, a report says.
The study, published in the April issue of the journal Public Library of Science Medicine, adds to a long line [...]
April 7, 2008
Tranquillisers putting children’s lives at risk· Anti-psychotics may cause long-term harm, say critics – Youngsters under 6 being given unlicensed drugs
The Guardian
Sarah Boseley
Health Editor
New evidence has shown children’s lives are being put at risk by a surge in the use of controversial tranquillising drugs which are being prescribed to control their behaviour, the Guardian has learned.
The anti-psychotic drugs are being given to youngsters under the age of six even though the drugs have no licence [...]
April 7, 2008
2.5m children on drugs in US
The Guardian
Antipsychotic drugs for children have taken off in the US on the back of a willingness to diagnose those with behavioural problems as having manic depression. Even children barely out of babyhood are getting a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, the modern term for the condition.
The chief symptoms are mood swings, which, however, are common [...]
April 7, 2008
Sen. Grassley Knocks Psychiatrist’s Funding from AstraZeneca
WSJ
by Sarah Rubenstein
A University of Cincinnati psychiatrist who was the lead author of a 2002 study that concluded kids did well on AstraZeneca’s antipsychotic Seroquel has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company since then, according to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).
Grassley (pictured) raised the issue in a floor statement last week [...]
