All posts tagged: Medication

Can a common parasite medication calm the brain’s stress circuitry during alcohol withdrawal?

Can a common parasite medication calm the brain’s stress circuitry during alcohol withdrawal?

Published by José Betancourt

Alcohol use disorder affects tens of millions of people globally, resulting in massive economic costs and severe public health consequences. The chronic condition is defined by an inability to control drinking habits and the emergence of severe negative emotional states when the substance is removed. While several medications are approved to treat the disorder, they only work for a fraction of patients. In a recent study, researchers found that genetic markers related to a specific brain receptor predict the severity of alcohol dependence in rodents, and that administrating the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin reduces withdrawal-driven drinking. The study was published in the journal Neuropharmacology. Current pharmaceutical treatments for alcohol use disorder often fail to provide lasting relief because patients possess wide biological and genetic diversity. A chemical intervention that successfully curbs drinking in one person might produce side effects or show no measurable effect in another. For psychiatric treatments to improve, the medical field must adopt a precision medicine model that accounts for these deeply ingrained individual differences. A collaborative team of scientists, led by Paola …

Startup Approved to Let AI System Prescribe Psychiatric Medication

Startup Approved to Let AI System Prescribe Psychiatric Medication

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech You’ve probably heard of AI psychosis. Well, now get ready for AI psychiatrists — with prescription pads. A San Francisco startup called Legion Health has been approved to let its AI app prescribe psychiatric medications to patients in Utah As The Verge reports, there are efforts to keep the idea from becoming the disaster that it sounds like. The chatbot can only renew prescriptions for a specific set of medications, including fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), and other substances used to treat anxiety and depression. It can only prescribe drugs that were previously prescribed by a human psychiatrist, and patients will also need to be stable and not have been hospitalized for a psychiatric condition in the last year. Despite those considerable carve-outs, experts are warning the system may do little to improve access to those who need care the most — while cracking the door to an ominous era for medicine. University of Utah School of Medicine psychiatrist …

Mississippi Lawmakers Send Bill That Criminalizes Abortion-Inducing Medication to Governor

Mississippi Lawmakers Send Bill That Criminalizes Abortion-Inducing Medication to Governor

Published by Sam Flores

People who distribute, or intend to distribute, abortion-inducing medication in Mississippi could face a criminal charge and up to 10 years in prison if convicted, under a bill lawmakers are sending to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves. Experts say criminalization could lock up desperate Mississippians and scare doctors away from prescribing these medications in clinical settings for non-abortion purposes, such as stopping postpartum hemorrhaging and easing symptoms of miscarriages. Lawmakers added restrictions on abortion-inducing drugs to a drug trafficking bill that passed the House 76-38 and the Senate 37-15 on Tuesday. Republicans control both chambers. “I think we’re going to end up trapping a lot of people into the criminal justice system simply because they want to have autonomy over their own bodies,” said Rep. Zakiya Summers, a Democrat from Jackson, who voted against the bill. Rep. Celeste Hurst, a Republican from Sandhill, said she introduced this amendment to keep abortion medication, such as mifepristone and misoprostol, from entering Mississippi. “The intent is to keep doctors from out of state from circumventing our current law,” Hurst …

Woman who tried to murder toddler by giving her adult medication and posted carefree TikTok videos during trial facing order for lifelong restriction | UK News

Woman who tried to murder toddler by giving her adult medication and posted carefree TikTok videos during trial facing order for lifelong restriction | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

A woman who tried to murder a toddler by repeatedly giving her adult medication is facing a rare life sentence for showing no remorse. Laura Docherty’s actions were branded “utterly reckless and breathtakingly wicked” by a judge, with the offender additionally described as “dishonest, manipulative and cunning”. A court heard how Docherty, 35, gave the girl antidepressant and painkilling drugs from the age of two, resulting in her needing to be resuscitated and placed on a ventilator. Judge Michael O’Grady KC said the offender was willing to throw the child’s life away “for nothing more than the drama of the moment, and the attention you seem to seek at every turn”. Indeed, Docherty posted a string of carefree TikTok videos while standing trial for the attempted murder – with one captioned “#makemefamous”, and another featuring the eye-roll emoji alongside the wording “court again”. In a later clip, she is seen lip syncing along to Dirty Dancing’s (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. And in another, captioned “#court #screwedup”, …

Long-term ADHD medication use does not appear to permanently alter the developing brain

Long-term ADHD medication use does not appear to permanently alter the developing brain

Published by José Betancourt

Long-term use of stimulant medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) does not appear to cause lasting changes in brain development, according to a study published in Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry. Medications such as methylphenidate, commonly known as Ritalin, are widely prescribed to treat ADHD. This condition is marked by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Stimulant medications work by increasing levels of brain chemicals, particularly dopamine and noradrenaline, which help regulate attention and behavior. Although these medications are considered highly effective in the short term, scientists have long debated whether taking them during childhood while the brain is still developing might lead to lasting biological changes. Animal studies have suggested that exposure during sensitive developmental periods could alter how the brain’s dopamine system matures, raising questions about possible long-term effects. Led by Zarah van der Pal from the University of Amsterdam, researchers in the Netherlands conducted a four-year follow-up of participants who had previously taken part in a randomized controlled trial over 16 weeks. The original trial included boys and adult men with …

Understanding How Medication and Psychotherapy Work Together

Understanding How Medication and Psychotherapy Work Together

Published by Jenni Sidey

While the primary focus of this blog will be skills training and targeting problems with psychodynamic psychotherapy (Busch, 2022), I thought it would be useful to begin with a discussion about how medication and psychotherapy work together. Many studies and wide-ranging clinical experiences have found that a combination of medication and psychotherapy is often more effective than either treatment alone for depressive and anxiety disorders (Cuijpers et al., 2019; Cuijpers et al., 2024). Recent guidelines have recommended that combination treatment is particularly valuable for depression that is moderate to severe or recurrent (American Psychiatric Association, 2023; National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2022), and similarly useful for anxiety that is severe, persistent, or recurrent (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2011). It is also common for patients to start either medication or psychotherapy alone and then have the other treatment added if symptoms persist (Guidi et al, 2021). Explanations for the combined effectiveness include that medication leads to a reduction of pervasive mood and anxiety symptoms, improving energy, sleep, and concentration, …

Childhood ADHD medication is linked to slight changes in adult height and weight

Childhood ADHD medication is linked to slight changes in adult height and weight

Published by José Betancourt

Children who are diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD, and treated with a common stimulant medication may be slightly more likely to experience a higher body weight and a fractionally shorter height by the time they reach adulthood. These physical changes remain small in scale, but the results suggest that doctors should regularly monitor the physical growth of children receiving this treatment. The research was published in the journal JAMA Network Open. ADHD is a condition that affects how people behave, focus, and control their impulses. For many children, doctors prescribe a medication called methylphenidate to help manage these behavioral symptoms. Methylphenidate is a stimulant drug that works by changing the balance of certain chemicals in the brain. The medication is widely recognized as a highly effective and safe treatment for helping young people succeed in daily activities. Despite its effectiveness, medical professionals have raised questions about how this medication might affect physical development over a long period. Some earlier reports suggested a potential link between stimulant medications and changes in childhood growth …

My medication suppresses my appetite, so I asked a dietitian what I should be doing to stay healthy—here’s what she recommends

My medication suppresses my appetite, so I asked a dietitian what I should be doing to stay healthy—here’s what she recommends

Published by Jenni Sidey

Trialing new medication can be challenging, even if the benefits outweigh the side effects. I recently discovered this firsthand when I started taking ADHD medication. It’s reported that about 80% of people on ADHD (stimulant) medications experience reduced appetite, and it turns out I’m in that majority. Registered dietitian Avery Zenker explains that appetite changes can happen to anyone, and not just as a response to medication. You may like “Ideally, the body is properly communicating hunger signals and we’re accurately hearing them,” she says. “However, there are many situations where appetite isn’t aligned with what the body needs.” I asked Zenker how she approaches managing clients with reduced appetites. “What works best is different for different people,” she says. “You may need to play around with different strategies to find what works best for you. “Try having small, frequent meals. Try different textures and flavors. Go shopping and look for some new snacks/foods that interest you, or try something new at a restaurant that you think you would like. Start your week with achievable …

Exercise rivals therapy and medication for treating depression and anxiety

Exercise rivals therapy and medication for treating depression and anxiety

Published by José Betancourt

A new, comprehensive analysis confirms that physical activity is a highly effective treatment for depression and anxiety, offering benefits comparable to therapy or medication. The research suggests that specific types of exercise, such as group activities for depression or short-term programs for anxiety, can be tailored to maximize mental health benefits for different people. These findings were recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Mental health disorders are a growing concern across the globe. Depression and anxiety affect a vast number of people, disrupting daily life and physical health. While antidepressants and psychotherapy are standard treatments, they are not always sufficient for every patient. Rates of these conditions continue to rise despite the availability of traditional cares. Health experts have explored exercise as an alternative or add-on treatment for many years. However, previous attempts to summarize the evidence have faced challenges. Earlier reviews often mixed data from healthy individuals with data from patients suffering from chronic physical illnesses. This made it difficult to determine if mental improvements were due to exercise itself or …

The Real World Effects of ADHD Medication

The Real World Effects of ADHD Medication

Published by Jenni Sidey

Whenever someone gets an ADHD diagnosis, the topic that comes next is often medication. For many, this is scary. Will I have side effects? Will meds take away my personality? Will I lose my spark? Will I be dependent or addicted to it? Many of these questions are valid and tackle issues that many practitioners often forget to mention or openly talk about. The most common experience is leaving the doctor’s office with a prescription, and with many of these doubts unaddressed. It makes the experience of trying ADHD medication an incredibly stressful endeavor for many people. ADHD Meds: The Basics So here are some of the basics. ADHD medication works in about 80% of individuals. Some will experience mild side effects such as dry mouth, loss of appetite, and very few may have severe side effects like palpitations or severe anxiety. But what about the long-term effects of ADHD medication? The ones nobody talks about? A recent literature review analysed the findings of several long-lasting studies on ADHD, evaluating more than 300,000 patients worldwide. …