Very High Rates of Psychotic Symptoms Linked to Stimulant Medications

(Note: portions of this review were recently published in an article in Clinical Psychiatry News) While it is known that stimulant medications used to treat ADHD might occasionally to lead to psychotic symptoms, this side effect is considered to be rare and usually associated with either medication abuse or very high dosages.  A report just released today […]

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Effects of Recreational Cannabis

As Vermont considers whether to join other states in legalizing recreational cannabis use, clinicians and the public alike are struggling to find good information about the risks, or lack thereof, that may be involved.  Complicating matters as the issue becomes more and more political is the phenomenon of dueling research evidence, as folks who are […]

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Are Doctors Following Best Practice When Prescribing Antipsychotic Meds to Kids?

(NOTE: the following is reprinted with permission from an article published in The Conversation on March 18, 2015) There’s been a lot of attention in the media about the number of children taking antipsychotic and other psychiatric medications. The assumption behind most of these stories is that these drugs are being overprescribed, and given to […]

Harvard Reserach Study on Early Psychosis Looking for Participants

by Sarah Hope Lincoln Schizophrenia is a disorder that causes significant impairments in independent functioning. While many may associate the disorder with its ‘positive’ symptoms like delusions and hallucinations, there are many ‘negative’ symptoms as well – social and emotional deficits, as well as a loss of pleasure and motivation. The expression and persistence of […]

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Vermont Youth Prescribed Fewer Antipsychotic Medications

Newly analyzed data from the Department of Vermont Health Access is revealing important trends regarding psychiatric medication use in Vermont children and adolescents.  The data examines Medicaid insured youth who took at least one medication in various classes (antidepressants, ADHD medications, antipsychotics, etc.) over the course of the year, comparing rates between 2009, 2011, and […]

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Psychotic Symptoms in Adolescence Common and Appear Dimensionsal

While there has been increased appreciation that most symptoms in psychiatry exist along a spectrum or continuum, certain domains have continued to be viewed by many as more binary in nature, meaning that a person generally has the symptom or not.  Psychotic symptoms have generally been one of those areas.  A recent study by Ronald […]

Limiting Antipsychotic Medications Shows Long-Term Benefits

The renewed debate surrounding the risk/benefit ratio of using antipsychotic medications for new onset psychotic illness has challenged the traditional recommendation of continued medication treatment for at least one year after remission.  While previous studies have documented an increased rates of relapse among those whose medications are discontinued, this risk is weighed against the potential […]

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Psychotic Symptoms in Childhood Not Specific To Adult Schizophrenia

Psychotic symptoms in children and adolescence, such as paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions, are relatively common and can be associated with a range of diagnoses.  Nevertheless, their presence understandably leads to tremendous concern on the part of patients, families, and clinicians about the possibility of an emerging thought disorder such as schizophrenia.  This article offers important […]

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