Parents Guide to Psychiatric Medications

Should psychiatric medication be prescribed for a child? Only a parent, in consultation with a doctor, can make that choice. Parents should be fully aware of the conditions that call for such medication and the appropriate drug used for treatment. Though a medication treatment plan for a child may not completely remove all symptoms of a disorder, at the very least, the child will experience a definite improvement in his or her day-to-day life. Long-term problems are minimal when compared to the continuation of a mental disorder.

Parents Guide to Psychiatric Medications

Baby Dies From Overdose At Children’s Hospital

Baby Dies From Overdose At Children’s Hospital

Seattle Children's Hospital is under investigation after an infant died from a medication overdose, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

Huge rise in prescription drug use among children

(NaturalNews) The use of long-term prescription drugs by children has increased four times faster among children in the past decade than among the general population, according to a report by Medco Health Solutions.

Huge rise in prescription drug use among children

ADHD and Stimulants: Brain Boost or Drug Abuse?

The narrative of personal improvement is as American as baseball—almost as American as a fondness for illegal and prescription drugs. From steroids and human growth hormones on the baseball diamond to amphetamines in college libraries and quadrangles, performance enhancing drugs combine a desire for productivity and success with drug abuse in a way that is uniquely American. And the statistics confirm their growing demand: the journal Addiction reports that on certain college campuses, especially competitive Northeastern colleges, up to 25 percent of students admitted to having misused ADHD medication in the past year. Yet despite their prevalence, these drugs, and the disorder they treat, are highly misunderstood.

ADHD and Stimulants: Brain Boost or Drug Abuse?

Inside story of the 'lunatic asylum'

Inside story of the 'lunatic asylum'

There is something strangely disquieting about standing in a padded cell – focusing on the tiny chink of light coming through the slatted window in the equally padded door; imagining the distress and confusion that must have once surged through the patients at the Glenside psychiatric hospital when they found themselves locked in one of these padded rooms.

Mom: CVS Gave My Child Wrong Prescription

A local mother says she came dangerously close to giving her child the wrong prescription. As Susan Wornick reports, it's one of about 2 dozen mistakes by CVS pharmacy over the last year.

Psychotropic Meds for Foster Kids Controversial

Over the past decade, use of psychotropic medications for youth has more than doubled.

Psychotropic Meds for Foster Kids Controversial

Has helping hurt? Psychotropic medication in foster care much higher

Over the past decade, psychotropic medication use in the general youth population has more than doubled. Estimated rates of psychotropic medication use in foster care youth, however, are much higher (ranging from 13-52%) than those in the general youth population (4%).

Has helping hurt? Psychotropic medication in foster care much higher

Psychotropic Medication and Youth in Foster Care Report

The Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) today issued a landmark report from a multi-state study on psychotropic medication oversight in foster care. Led by Laurel K. Leslie, MD, MPH at Tufts CTSI, Christopher Bellonci, MD at Tufts Medical Center and Justeen Hyde, PhD at Cambridge Health Alliance, the study examined state policies and practices in 47 states, including Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia regarding the use of medication for treating behavioral and mental health problems in foster care children and adolescents ages 2 to 21 years.

Psychotropic Medication and Youth in Foster Care Report

Children in study hold the key to effective malaria drugs

Children in study hold the key to effective malaria drugs

Some 740 children from Nyando and Siaya districts may tell the country whether the Kenya government recommended malaria drug is still effective.

Antipsychotic drugs and blood clots

“Antipsychotic drugs taken by thousands in the UK raise the risk of dangerous blood clots,” BBC News reported.

Antipsychotic drugs and blood clots

Shock Therapy – A Thing of the Past or the Only Way Out?

Truths and myths about a demonized practice, still widely in use around the world.

Shock Therapy – A Thing of the Past or the Only Way Out?

Johnson & Johnson scandals continue as secret emails reveal planned covert drug recall

Johnson & Johnson has taken a huge hit this year with its massive recall of over-the-counter children's cough medicine and Tylenol products. But new information gathered through a Congressional investigation has revealed that the company knew about problems with its Motrin pain reliever product as well, and planned to secretly hire subcontractors to buy up the product from store shelves without notifying consumers about potential dangers.

Johnson & Johnson scandals continue as secret emails reveal planned covert drug recall

Troubled youth leave state because mental health help lacking

Troubled youth leave state because mental health help lacking

Sandy Waide's grandson was having a difficult time in preschool. He ignored his teacher's instructions and refused to sit still. One morning he took a fish out of the classroom aquarium. That ended up being his last day there.

$1,000 a Pop: How Forest Labs Bribed Doctors to Prescribe Antidepressants to Kids

Forest Labs (FRX) appears to have initially underestimated how much it needed to pay the feds to go away: In 2009, the company said it had set aside $170 million in case it needed to settle a Department of Justice investigation of the kickbacks it paid in its marketing of Celexa and Lexapro, two antidepressants. Today, the company paid $313 million to wrap up the probes.

$1,000 a Pop: How Forest Labs Bribed Doctors to Prescribe Antidepressants to Kids

Corporate Integrity Agreement Between OIG HHS and Forest Laboratories Inc

Aggressive Kids With ADHD May Not Need Antipsychotic Meds

Study suggests judicious tweaking of stimulant drugs, plus psychotherapy, may be enough

Aggressive Kids With ADHD May Not Need Antipsychotic Meds

Missouri drug manufacturer fined for marketing antidepressants to children

Missouri drug manufacturer fined for marketing antidepressants to children

Drug maker Forest Laboratories of Earth City is paying 313-million dollars to settle criminal and civil complains filed against it by the federal government.

Fact or Fiction: ADHD in America, a Capitol Hill Forum

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, Nasdaq: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, has partnered with the Entertainment Industries Council (EIC) , the Lab School of Washington and other organizations in support of National Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Awareness Week to host "Fact or Fiction: ADHD in America, a Capitol Hill Forum." The panel discussion aims to dispel myths and provide facts about the diagnosis, treatment and management of ADHD. Held in the Rayburn House Office Building on Thursday, September 16th, this briefing promotes education and increased awareness of ADHD by featuring insights from ADHD experts and advocates.

Fact or Fiction: ADHD in America, a Capitol Hill Forum

Forest, Maker of Celexa, to Pay More Than $313 Million to Settle Marketing Case

Forest, Maker of Celexa, to Pay More Than $313 Million to Settle Marketing Case

A unit of Forest Laboratories, the maker of the antidepressant Celexa, agreed on Wednesday to pay more than $313 million to settle criminal and civil complaints, including a claim that it had illegally promoted the drug for use in children.

Clinical Trials on Children

Here.

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=children

Half of special needs children misdiagnosed

Half of special needs children misdiagnosed

Ofsted review says many pupils diagnosed as having special educational needs require better teaching or pastoral care

New study finds children labeled as ADHD may not be

The diagnosis of ADHD has soared by 500 percent since the 1980s. Now a new study suggests a large number of kids are misdiagnosed and are often medicated for a disease they don't have. Dr. Bill Evans teaches economic statistics at Notre Dame. Evans and colleagues at North Carolina State and the University of Minnesota joined forces to study ADHD and why so many more children are being diagnosed and medicated. They spent a year looking at the exact birth dates of 60,000 kids in grades K-12. "What our work tends to demonstrate is that there seems to be a lot of misdiagnosis and we estimate that there are probability about a million kids that are misdiagnosed defining them as having ADHD when really they're just young for their grade," Dr. William Evans explained. Start dates for schools varying from state to state make a big difference for the youngest children. "Every day has a school that you have to turn five by in order to start kindergarten and if your birthday is before that, a lot of kids are going to start and they're going to be the youngest in their class. If your birthday is right after that, then you're going to be the oldest kid in your class," Dr. Evans said. Using those exact birth dates, their study, published in the Journal of Health Economics suggests shows children considered young for their class are misdiagnosed with ADHD at a much higher rate. "But if you take a look on either side of the cutoff there are staggering differences in the cutoff of the ADHD diagnosis," Dr. Evans said. Teachers are often making the suggestion of ADHD when the problem could simply be maturity. "Part of the problem is that a lot parents are getting their child diagnosed because the teacher says he's acting up in school so you have to ask, is the kid acting up in school because of this condition or is the kid acting up because he's just young for the grade," Dr. Evans said. It makes a difference from school performance to athletics and it's much harder for kids to catch up, even when they get to high school and college. "The evidence is pretty clear that the older ones are the kids that are doing better in class," Dr. Evans said. So how do we help our children, especially those who make the date but may just not be ready for school? "I think the solution is to ask a lot of questions have the kid evaluated by a professional and ask "is this really behavior that is consistent with the disease or is this behavior that's consistent with the age," Dr. Evans said. For those who do have ADHD the behaviors last into adulthood so a true diagnosis is important. Just as important is making sure our kids are not misdiagnosed with a disorder that may really have more to do with them just being too young for school. Dr. Evans says more than one million kids may have been misdiagnosed and more than 800,000 may be taking stimulant medication based only on maturity. Once you have a true diagnosis, the National Institute of Mental Health says treatment options include medication, behavioral treatment or a combination. Their study found the combination produced better results than behavioral treatment alone.

Gauging Psychiatric Drugs for Children

“Child’s Ordeal Reveals Risks of Psychiatric Drugs in Young” (front page, Sept. 2) illustrates a disastrous course for one young child. Millions of children with psychiatric and learning disorders get the wrong treatment or no treatment because of a lack of access to proper care, general misinformation about child development, and a lack of training for pediatricians.

Gauging Psychiatric Drugs for Children

State Gets $500K After Drug Maker Settles Lawsuit

State Gets $500K After Drug Maker Settles Lawsuit

Wisconsin will get over a half-million dollars after a drug company agreed to settle a lawsuit.

Ortho-McNeil-Janssen was accused of marketing the drug Topamax for conditions not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. They included psychiatric problems like bi-polar disorder, and drug and alcohol dependency.

Ofsted concerns over children's social services

Ofsted concerns over children's social services

KENT NEWS: Children are at risk of harm due to inadequate and late assessments by Kent County Council’s social services department, warns Ofsted.

White House Encouraging Pediatricians to Prescribe Drugs for Overweight Children

First Lady Michelle Obama reveals some requirement of the new Health Care law that seemed to have been hidden in its 2,000+ pages. Nancy Pelosi famously said "We have to pass the bill to see what is in the bill." Well, now we are finding out little gems like this.

How to Recognize ADHD Symptoms in Children

Is your child high spirited and unfocused -- or suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? These ADHD guidelines will help you decide if a checkup is in order.

Almost Half of All Americans Are on Drugs

This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data on prescription-drug use through 2008. According to the data, almost half of Americans -- 48.3% -- took at least one prescription drug per month in 2008, up from 43.5% a decade ago.

Almost Half of All Americans Are on Drugs

Doctors Prescribing More Antipsychotic Drugs for Children

Doctors Prescribing More Antipsychotic Drugs for Children

Doctors are increasingly prescribing antipsychotic drugs to treat young children, even infants, for conditions that some psychiatric experts say rarely warrant such strong treatment, The New York Times reports.

Drug Laws Violated for Foster Kids : Deeper Concerns

In the wake of a little boy's suicide and the admission by child welfare chiefs that they violated a 2005 law aimed at protecting kids from psychiatric-drug use, some Florida lawmakers suggest the death may be a symptom of deeper problems.

Drug Laws Violated for Foster Kids : Deeper Concerns

Child’s Journey Shows Dangers of Antipsychotic Drugs

Child’s Journey Shows Dangers of Antipsychotic Drugs

At 18 months, Kyle Warren started taking a daily antipsychotic drug on the orders of a pediatrician trying to quell the boy’s severe temper tantrums.

The Over-Prescribing of Psychoactive Drugs to Children: A Scourge of Our Times

Today, the administration of psychoactive drugs to children (6-17) is all too common and growing at an alarming rate. These drugs often cause the opposite of the intended effect, often condemning children to a life of misery and ill health. The prescription of these drugs is said to treat "chemical imbalances" which were said to cause ADHD, Depression and Bi-polar disorder. It turns out, however, that what we were calling "disease-causing chemical imbalances," is simply incorrect . The sad irony is, the inappropriate use of these medications is in fact creating different chemical imbalances, which do cause mental disorders, many of which are both life-long and debilitating.

The Over-Prescribing of Psychoactive Drugs to Children: A Scourge of Our Times

China to vaccinate 100 million children to fight measles

Nearly 100 million children in China will be vaccinated against measles this month to help eliminate the disease, a leading cause of avoidable death and disability in developing countries, the WHO said on Wednesday.

China to vaccinate 100 million children to fight measles