Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Metyrapone May Be Effective as Additive Treatment of Major Depression
Medscape Medical News story - "Metyrapone is effective as additive treatment for major depression, according to the results of a randomized, double-blind trial published in the December issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

FDA Vows to Improve Drug-Safety Assessments
Story in Psychiatric News - "Serious concerns over how the FDA handled the highly publicized safety concerns surrounding antidepressants and Vioxx have prompted the agency to change course with respect to protecting public safety. Amid ongoing concerns that it has failed to protect the public health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last month that it would take five steps toward strengthening the agency's drug safety programs. The move comes in the wake of ongoing Congressional inquiries into how the agency responded to and managed early concerns about the safety of antidepressants and the anti-inflammatory COX-2 inhibitor, rofecoxib (Vioxx)..." See also information on the FDA pilot program (Adobe Acrobat format) for resolving differences of professional opinion.  
  

How Immigration Affects Mental Health
WebMD article - "Mental health problems affect more Mexican-Americans and non-Hispanic whites born in the U.S. than new immigrants from the same countries, says the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The news comes from a study conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a branch of the NIH. It appears in the December issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry."