Friday, October 31, 2003

Medicating Young Minds
Time magazine feature article on the increasing use of behavioral drugs for children - "according to PhRMA, a pharmaceutical trade group, up to 10% of all American kids may suffer from some mental illness. Perhaps twice that many have exhibited some symptoms of depression. Up to a million others may suffer from the alternately depressive and manic mood swings of bipolar disorder (BPD), one more condition that was thought until recently to be an affliction of adults alone. ADHD rates are exploding too. According to a Mayo Clinic study, children between 5 and 19 have at least a 7.5% chance of being found to have ADHD, which amounts to nearly 5 million kids. Other children are receiving diagnoses and medication for obsessive-compulsive disorder, social-anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), pathological impulsiveness, sleeplessness, phobias and more." See also Exploring the Long-Term Effects of Behavioral Drugs on Youth at JoinTogether.  
  

Managing Psychotropic Drug Costs: Will Formularies Work?
Health Affairs story reprinted at Medscape - " Spending for prescription drugs - once the fastest-growing component of health care spending in the United States - has taken second place to hospital costs but still continues to increase rapidly. In 2002, for example, prescription drug spending rose 13.2 percent over its 2001 level, down from a high of 18.4 percent in 1999. Within the broader category of prescription drugs, however, some of the fastest-growing drugs are psychotropic medications, especially new classes such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and atypical antipsychotics. Formularies, or lists of prescription drugs, are one of many tools that insurance companies and other payers use to control spending for prescription drugs..." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

FDA Approves Long-Lasting Schizophrenia Drug
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "Drug makers Johnson & Johnson and Alkermes Inc. on Wednesday said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved sales of a long-acting injected form of its atypical antipsychotic Risperdal (risperidone) for schizophrenia. The drug, called Risperdal Consta, is the first long-lasting, newer-generation antipsychotic to be approved by the FDA, according to the companies. A patient given the new drug will receive an injection of Risperdal Consta at a doctor's office every two weeks. Risperdal Consta, which is already sold in 43 other countries, employs Alkermes' Medisorb technology, which involves encapsulating a drug in a polymer so it is released into the body slowly over time." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Group: Ban The Anti-Depressant Serzone
AP story at InteliHealth - "The anti-depressant Serzone, about to be pulled off the market in Canada and long gone in Europe, should be banned in the United States because of cases of deadly liver failure, a consumer advocacy group told the government Wednesday. It's impossible to predict which patient will develop liver failure, an unacceptable risk considering Serzone works no better than older anti-depressants that don't come with that side effect, Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen told the Food and Drug Administration."