Top 25 Psychiatric Prescriptions for 2009

These are the top 25 psychiatric medications by number of U.S. prescriptions dispensed in 2009, according to IMS Health. I’ve also provided their 2005 ranking. To put the percent change into perspective, the U.S. total population rose approximately 4 percent from 2005 to 2009.

Top 25 Psychiatric Prescriptions for 2009

'Anatomy Of An Epidemic': Could Psychiatric Drugs Be Fuelling A Mental Illness Epidemic?

A few years ago, while writing an article about the merits of psychiatric medications, I looked at whether the number of adults receiving a federal disability payment due to mental illness had significantly changed since 1987, which was the year that Prozac was introduced. Our society's use of psychiatric medications, of course, has soared since that time, and here's what I discovered: The number of adults, ages 18 to 65, on the federal disability rolls due to mental illness jumped from 1.25 million in 1987 to four million in 2007. Roughly one in every 45 working-age adults is now on government disability due to mental illness.

'Anatomy Of An Epidemic': Could Psychiatric Drugs Be Fuelling A Mental Illness Epidemic?

The Pfizer Geodon Trial And Physician Mishaps

The Pfizer Geodon Trial And Physician Mishaps

Earlier this month, the FDA sent Pfizer a warning letter for failing to properly monitor pediatric clinical trials in which at least 13 children with bipolar disorder experienced overdosing that led to restless legs, tremors, involuntary facial movements and a serious skin disorder.

AstraZeneca Agrees To Fines: Ct To Get $3.15 Million

AstraZeneca Agrees To Fines: Ct To Get $3.15 Million

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Michael P. Starkowski announced that Connecticut will receive $3.15 million under an agreement in principle with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP for alleged off-label marketing of Seroquel, and antipsychotic drug, for uses unapproved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Adderall benefits and side effects in ADHD usage

It’s a long list of benefits for Adderall but we must not forget about the side effects in ADHD.According to a new study released by the New York Medical College of Family Medicine, the Adderall is linked to heart attacks and sudden death in children and young adults. This remedy is prescribed to treat attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD), a disease can diagnosed 15 percent of school-age children. Although the incidence of heart attacks and sudden death is higher in children treated regularly with Adderall, they also concern former users.

Adderall benefits and side effects in ADHD usage

Correction: Children overdosed during Pfizer drug study; FDA issues warning

Legal news for drug-related injury attorneys. FDA issues warning to Pfizer for faulty testing procedures in drug trials.

Correction: Children overdosed during Pfizer drug study; FDA issues warning

Drug Giant AstraZeneca to Pay $520 Million to Settle Fraud Case

Drug Giant AstraZeneca to Pay $520 Million to Settle Fraud Case

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca will pay $520 million in fines to settle charges by the federal government that it illegally marketed the anti-psychotic drug Seroquel to children and elderly patients for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

US military concerned about 'over-medication' of troops

The US Army's surgeon general on Monday expressed concern about "over-medication" of soldiers returning from combat, saying the military is closely tracking how drugs are prescribed to troops.

US military concerned about 'over-medication' of troops

Television review: 'The Vaccine Wars' on PBS

The documentary focuses on the growing number of parents choosing not to vaccinate their kids over fear of autism and other disorders and the public health officials who find this trend alarming.

Television review: 'The Vaccine Wars' on PBS

Children Who Watch R-rated Movies More Likely to Drink Alcohol

If your kids are going out to see R-rated movies, they might also be prone to drinking alcohol, according to a study from Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, N.H.

Children Who Watch R-rated Movies More Likely to Drink Alcohol

State let danger linger after foster kid’s drug death

Denis Maltez, a 67-pound wisp confined to a state-licensed group home, suffered the debilitating effects of his startling drug cocktail.

State let danger linger after foster kid’s drug death

Adderall Associated with Serious, Life-Threatening Side Effects

Adderall and Adderall XR, schedule II controlled substances composed of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, have several Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved uses. However, both prescribed and recreational use of these drugs, especially among young people, is associated with serious, life-threatening side effects.

Adderall Associated with Serious, Life-Threatening Side Effects

Things You Should Know About Children Taking Paxil

Today is not uncom­mon to see chil­dren suf­fer­ing from depres­sion or other men­tal dis­or­ders. Many doc­tors pre­scribe drugs is now as Paxil to improve men­tal health dis­or­der or con­di­tion of the child. But what many do not know is that the U.S. Food and Drug Admin­is­tra­tion (FDA) never approved treat­ment or use of Paxil for chil­dren. The FDA does not reg­u­late med­ical pro­ce­dures and med­ical med­i­cine to chil­dren solely on their expe­ri­ence and the find­ings require.

Things You Should Know About Children Taking Paxil

Mentally ill mom can choose son's meds, D.C. appellate court rules

The District's foster care officials were right to refuse to give a mentally ill boy his medication after the boy's biological mother objected, the District's Court of Appeals has ruled.

Mentally ill mom can choose son's meds, D.C. appellate court rules

Medication Madness: The Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide, and Crime

In Medication Madness, psychiatrist Peter R. Breggin, M.D., describes how people taking psychiatric medication can experience abnormal behavioral reactions, including suicide, violence, emotional breakdowns, and criminal acts. Dr. Breggin explains his concept of ?medication spellbinding?: individuals taking psychiatric drugs may have no idea whatsoever that their mental conditions are deteriorating and that their actions are no longer under control.

Medication Madness: The Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide, and Crime

Pharmaceutical injury alert: FDA slams Pfizer with warnings for deadly clinical trials

Legal news for drug-related injury attorneys. FDA issues warning to Pfizer for faulty testing procedures in drug trails.

Pharmaceutical injury alert: FDA slams Pfizer with warnings for deadly clinical trials

Chief medical officer tells doctors to stop giving seasonal flu shots to kids after some children developed fever and suffered fits

Chief medical officer tells doctors to stop giving seasonal flu shots to kids after some children developed fever and suffered fits

DRUG regulators are urgently investigating whether the seasonal flu vaccine is safe for children, after the nation's top doctor said they shouldn't receive it.

The Psychiatric Drugging of Children: Inventing Disorders

The Psychiatric Drugging of Children: Inventing Disorders

Of all the harmful actions of modern psychiatry, “the mass diagnosing and drugging of children is the most appalling with the most serious consequences for the future of individual lives and for society,” warns the world-renowned expert, Dr Peter Breggin, often referred to as the “Conscience of Psychiatry.”

Psychedelic drugs get a second look from science

One speaker introduced his mother. Another thanked his wife and children. And at the closing ceremony of the Psychedelic Science conference in San Jose, the crowd of 1,000 stood up and applauded in appreciation of one another.

Psychedelic drugs get a second look from science

Controversial Miami psychiatrist dropped from Medicaid program

State healthcare regulators have booted from the state Medicaid program a Miami psychiatrist who had prescribed a cocktail of potent mental health drugs to an autistic, 12-year-old boy who later died of complications from over-medication.

Controversial Miami psychiatrist dropped from Medicaid program

U.S. warns Pfizer after children overdosed in study

U.S. health regulators have warned Pfizer Inc over a series of failures that led to the overdosing of at least 13 children in a clinical trial of its antipsychotic drug Geodon, according to a letter made public on Tuesday.

U.S. warns Pfizer after children overdosed in study

House Bills to Create Ovesight for Michgian Emergency Financial Manager of failing schools

House Bills to Create Ovesight for Michgian Emergency Financial Manager of failing schools

Study cautions: Psychotropic medications overprescribed to children

Study cautions: Psychotropic medications overprescribed to children

A new study from the Journal of Marital & Family Therapy warns of the dramatic rise in the use of psychotropic medications for children. One in every fifty Americans is now considered permanently disabled by mental illness, and up to eight million children take one or more psychotropic drugs.

Psychiatric Drugging Of Infants And Toddlers In The US - Part I

Psychiatric Drugging Of Infants And Toddlers In The US - Part I

The United States has become the psychiatric drugging capital of the world for kids with children being medicated at a younger and younger age. Medicaid records in some states show infants less than a year old on drugs for mental disorders.

Psychiatric Drugging of Infants and Toddlers in the US - Part II

TeenScreen - Controversial and Unscientific

Red flags overlooked in prescription drug death of 12-year-old

Red flags overlooked in prescription drug death of 12-year-old

Born with autism, 12-year-old Denis Maltez was “hyper, needy, pesty,” his psychiatrist wrote following a May 2007 visit.

Dr. Steven L. Kaplan solved the 70-pound boy’s problems with a prescription pad, writing orders for two different anti-psychotic drugs along with a tranquilizer and a mood stabilizer — three of them in the highest doses recommended for adults, records show.

Some thoughts on psychiatric medications and children:

Some thoughts on psychiatric medications and children:

Behavioural rewards 'work like drugs' for ADHD

Behavioural rewards 'work like drugs' for ADHD

The brains of children with attention-deficit disorders respond to on-the-spot rewards in the same way as they do to medication, say scientists.

Louis Theroux looks at America's prescription culture

In the US, an increasing number of parents are turning to psychoactive medication to help them cope with the challenging behaviour of their children. So is this an understandable path to take, or a worrying shortcut, asks Louis Theroux.

Louis Theroux looks at America's prescription culture

Storms amends bill on psychiatric drug treatment for children

One of the largest providers of inpatient psychiatric care for Florida foster kids successfully pushed for an amendment to a bill that will make it easier for group homes and treatment centers to medicate foster children without the consent of a parent or judge.

Storms amends bill on psychiatric drug treatment for children

Pill Popping Kids of America

PUTTING children with behavioural conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on prescription drugs is rife in the US. In his latest documentary, Louis Theroux travelled to the Western Psychiatric Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a leading centre in the treatment of children with mental health problems, to meet the kids, the families and the doctors who believe medication is the only way to tackle their conditions. It is estimated that between five to eight per cent of all American school children have been diagnosed with ADHD. In the UK the figure is 500,000, with around 60,000 of those taking medication. Louis Theroux: America's Medicated Kids, is on BBC2 at 9pm on Sunday. Here, Louis, 39 - who has two sons aged four and two - gives TV Features Writer KATE JACKSON his verdict on the issue and, on the right, we look at three of the children featured on the show.

Pill Popping Kids of America

Children's Mental Health: Alabama's Foster Care System

In the late 1980's, a child who's come to be known as R.C. was removed from his home because of allegations of abuse and neglect. R.C. was sent to a series of psychiatric institutions, even though he was not diagnosed with any serious emotional problems. Lawyers sued the Alabama Department of Human Resources on behalf of R.C. And in 1991, a federal court issued the R.C. Consent Decree. It required a massive overhaul in the way DHR provides mental health treatment to foster children in Alabama. The state is now lauded as a national model, but as Les Lovoy reports there are still big challenges.

Children's Mental Health: Alabama's Foster Care System

Children and Prescription Drug Errors

Prescription drug error is a fairly common medical mishap. Thousands of Americans are affected by prescription drug errors every year. Children are particularly vulnerable to prescription errors because of their small physical size and limited ability to metabolize high doses of drugs.

Children and Prescription Drug Errors

Limits On Psychiatric Medication For Foster Kids Under Consideration

Florida legislators are considering new restrictions on the use of psychiatric medication among foster children a year after a 7-year-old child in state care hung himself.

Limits On Psychiatric Medication For Foster Kids Under Consideration

Hooked on prescription drugs

Did you know you're more likely to be prescribed prescription drugs for anxiety or depression than counselling or psychotherapy?

Hooked on prescription drugs

Antidepressants Pose Similar Suicide Risks for Kids

While antidepressants are known to offer relief to patients suffering from depression and anxiety, a wide variety of studies and reports point to the medications’ risks in a growing array of demographics. Now, Reuters Health, writes that while antidepressant medications do work in pediatric patients, they can increase suicidal behavior, regardless of a particular medication’s component or brand.

Antidepressants Pose Similar Suicide Risks for Kids

MISINTERPRETING BRAIN DAMAGE AS PROGRESS

MISINTERPRETING BRAIN DAMAGE AS PROGRESS

I recall a child who came to me for an evaluation for wraparound services. This was my first encounter with the child. He entered the room staggering and swaying, barely unable to keep his eyes open. He almost fell out of his seat and his speech was slurred. When I commented to the parent that the child looked highly sedated, the parent responded, ‘well, at least he’s not aggressive.” This led me to conclude that this parent was actually looking at this child’s miserable state as progress.

Judge approves $110M settlement in E-Ferol case

A federal judge has approved a $110 million class-action settlement against the manufacturer and distributor of an intravenous vitamin E supplement that federal officials have linked to the deaths of dozens of premature infants in the mid-1980s.

Judge approves $110M settlement in E-Ferol case

Child dies in hospital from accidental overdose

Florida Senators Discuss Psych Drugs on Kids

Part 1


Part 2

Who should prescribe psychiatric drugs?

Who should prescribe psychiatric drugs?

I love reading the Psychiatric Times . The long-form articles nearly always express cogent arguments about controversial subjects in the field, and the short-form pieces point out news items I might have otherwise missed.

La. gets $20 million in Eli Lilly drug settlement

Louisiana will receive $20 million in a settlement with pharmaceutical maker Eli Lilly and Co. over its marketing of the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa, the state attorney general said Wednesday.

La. gets $20 million in Eli Lilly drug settlement

Psychiatrists say that being angry is a mental illness

Proposed updates to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) are prompting many to question whether or not the psychiatric profession itself has gone crazy.

Psychiatrists say that being angry is a mental illness

Family drug court a worthy investment

Since its inception nine years ago, the family drug court has become an integral part of the Bexar County judicial system.

Family drug court a worthy investment

Wisconsin immunization law requires vaccinations for certain grade levels

The Wisconsin immunization law requires students entering grades six and 12 to show proof of having received two doses of chickenpox vaccine, or a reported history of having chicken pox.

Wisconsin immunization law requires vaccinations for certain grade levels

Father convicted of 1st-degree murder in death of Rebecca Riley

A South Shore father of three was convicted today of first-degree murder for killing his 4-year-old, youngest child with an overdose of a psychotropic drug that he and his wife had nicknamed "happy medicine."

Father convicted of 1st-degree murder in death of Rebecca Riley

Sounding Off: Parents need to know their vaccine rights

A federal court ruled recently that mercury in vaccines doesn’t cause autism, but parents like Erica Henderson aren’t buying it.

Sounding Off: Parents need to know their vaccine rights

Treat kids without drugs

Treat kids without drugs

HE has been called the Finnish Dr Phil, and he is coming to our region in June.

Physician Prescription Patterns for Psychiatric Drugs

Physician Prescription Patterns for Psychiatric Drugs

A new study reviews the behavior of physicians when making the decision to prescribe psychiatric drugs.

Psychiatric Manual Diagnosis To Justify Drugging Small Children

The day is rapidly approaching when your child could be diagnosed with a mental illness for having an active imagination or bugging someone else enough to complain.

Psychiatric Manual Diagnosis To Justify Drugging Small Children

Antipsychotic Drugs: Never Justified in Children for Any Reason

Antipsychotic Drugs: Never Justified in Children for Any Reason

Antipsychotic drugs cause brain damage. When used over several years, it's almost a sure thing. There is no justification for ever giving these disabling chemicals to any child under any circumstances. Yet, that's exactly what happens every day, and it's done to children for diagnoses of ADHD, mental retardation, and simple misbehavior.

Stop the Psychotropic Drugging of America's Children

Millions of American children are identified daily with some type of mental or behavioral challenge and are subsequently recommended to school psychologists for testing.

Stop the Psychotropic Drugging of America's Children

Many kids with autistic traits are never diagnosed clinically

A study has revealed that many children who have autistic traits are never diagnosed clinically, leading to them not receiving the support they need through educational or health services.

Many kids with autistic traits are never diagnosed clinically

F.D.A. Asks Pediatricians to Stop Using a Diarrhea Vaccine for Now

Federal drug regulators on Monday asked the nation’s pediatricians to stop giving children a diarrhea vaccine until federal scientists can figure out why the product contains apparently harmless but extraneous pieces of a pig virus.

F.D.A. Asks Pediatricians to Stop Using a Diarrhea Vaccine for Now

Thomson Reuters Study Offers New Insight on How Physicians Prescribe Psychiatric Drugs

A study published today outlines the medical conditions that U.S. physicians reported treating with psychiatric drugs.

Thomson Reuters Study Offers New Insight on How Physicians Prescribe Psychiatric Drugs

Bipolar Diagnosis in Children Often Harmful

Troubled children diagnosed with bipolar disorder may fare better with a different diagnosis, according to researchers at The Hastings Center.

Bipolar Diagnosis in Children Often Harmful

Children sickened after inoculation

The Ministry of Health is probing a possible health hazard in which some children may have died and dozens became seriously ill after being inoculated in Shanxi. Earlier, local officials denied reports, saying their vaccines were safe, and the people receiving them didn't show abnormal symptoms.

Children sickened after inoculation

China probes vaccines after child deaths reported

China's Health Ministry is investigating the safety of inoculations in a northern province after a report that defective vaccines possibly killed four children and seriously sickened dozens.

China probes vaccines after child deaths reported

After 7-Year-Old Gabriel Myers' Suicide, Fla. Bill Looks to Tighten Access to Psychiatric Drugs

The apparent suicide of 7-year-old boy Gabriel Myers, who was taking several psychiatric medications, has led to the introduction of a bill in the Florida legislature, which would assure that powerful mental health drugs dispensed to Florida foster care children would be more closely monitored.

After 7-Year-Old Gabriel Myers' Suicide, Fla. Bill Looks to Tighten Access to Psychiatric Drugs

Florida Psychotropic Bill

Police remove 'unruly' 5-year-old from class

Police removed a 5-year-old girl from class Wednesday when teachers at Venice Elementary school said they could not control her.

Police remove 'unruly' 5-year-old from class

Supreme Court Vaccine Case Causes Drug Manufacturer Controversy

Supreme Court Vaccine Case Causes Drug Manufacturer Controversy. The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case and determine whether or not parents of a child who is believed to have been injured by a vaccine can sue a drug company.

Supreme Court Vaccine Case Causes Drug Manufacturer Controversy

Day Care Workers Charged With Drugging Kids

Day Care Workers Charged With Drugging Kids

The Hamilton County Prosecutor has filed charges against two women accused of drugging children in a Springfield Township day care center.

Psychiatric Drugs During Pregnancy: Benefits, Risks, Alternatives

Taking medications during pregnancy — both prescription and over−the−counter — can be dangerous for the developing fetus. Drugs can cause a variety of unwanted effects including premature birth, abnormal birth weight, physical defects, developmental and neurological abnormalities, and others. But many pregnant women have conditions that are important to treat, so doctors and patients must weigh the risks of using medications against the risks to the mother and fetus of not treating the mother effectively. Some recent studies looked at the effects of antidepressant and anti−anxiety drugs as well as the alternative therapy, acupuncture.

Psychiatric Drugs During Pregnancy: Benefits, Risks, Alternatives

AssureRx adds gene to test for psychiatric drug impact

Personalized drug company AssureRx Health Inc. has added a fifth gene to its a genetic test and analysis that determines how psychiatric medicines could impact individual patients.

AssureRx adds gene to test for psychiatric drug impact

Are we overmedicating our kids - or undermedicating them?

Parenting writer Judith Warner set out to pen an exposé of overmedicated children. Instead, she uncovered a different problem: underdiagnosis and undertreatment of mental illness

Are we overmedicating our kids - or undermedicating them?

Supreme Court accepts appeal over vaccine safety

Parents who say that a range of preventive vaccines given their young children can cause serious health problems will have their appeal heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Supreme Court accepts appeal over vaccine safety

Medical reports awaited on three drug mistakes at children's hospital

Medical reports awaited on three drug mistakes at children's hospital

One year after several medication errors at Alberta Children's Hospital, there are still lingering questions about what went wrong in the three cases — including two non-fatal drug overdoses in young patients.

Psychiatric Drug Facts with Dr. Peter Breggin

Psychiatric Drug Facts with Dr. Peter Breggin

New psychiatric disorders flag normal human behaviors as "diseases"

The Disease Mongering Engine, which I invented a couple of years ago and posted on NaturalNews, was initially created as a joke to demonstrate the ridiculousness of the fictitious diseases that are constantly created by the psychiatric industry. This hilarious online disease generator (http://www.naturalnews.com/disease-...) allows you to instantly create your own fictitious diseases and disorders such as:

New psychiatric disorders flag normal human behaviors as "diseases"

AstraZeneca to drop psychiatric research

AstraZeneca to drop psychiatric research

AstraZeneca is to cease researching drugs for illnesses including schizophrenia and ovarian cancer in a shake-up of its research and development activities.

Are Parents Overmedicating ADHD Children?

Why the media -- and society -- perpetuate the myth that mental health conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) aren't real and that overly competitive, or "bad" parents are to blame for the rise in diagnosing and medicating children.

Are Parents Overmedicating ADHD Children?

South Carolina to axe all services for autistic children?

South Carolina to axe all services for autistic children?

The state of South Carolina has proposed eliminating all services for with autism and other disorders. Most services to autistic adults will be eliminated as well. This will be devastating to families. These families need your help.

Vaccine Safety Concerns Parents

Many parents are concerned about the safety of vaccines and elect not to vaccinate their children from potentially fatal diseases, according to a new study completed by researchers at the University of Michigan and published online by Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, on March 1, 2010.

Vaccine Safety Concerns Parents

Who is Doping School kids?

It is increasingly—and horrifyingly—commonplace in California to treat children diagnosed with deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, with marijuana. California voters passed a law allowing doctors to recommend medical marijuana to their patients, including those under the age of 18. The law allows doctors to recommend marijuana “for any... illness for which marijuana provides relief.” Under that broad umbrella, doctors are pushing pot to treat all kinds of maladies, including ADHD. Truly, this is horrifying.

Who is Doping School kids?

Handbook suggests that deviations from 'normality' are disorders

Peter De Vries, America's wittiest novelist, died 17 years ago, but his discernment of this country's cultural foibles still amazes. In a 1983 novel, he spotted the tendency of America's therapeutic culture to medicalize character flaws:

Handbook suggests that deviations from 'normality' are disorders

"We've Got Issues": Big Pharma might not be lying

A hundred years ago it was rarely diagnosed in children. In the intervening timespan the number and type of diagnoses have exploded. Moreover, the number and type of treatments have also exploded. The favored treatment usually involves powerful medications with serious side effects. Big Pharma has made a fortune from these medications and is constantly searching for new variations to patent and sell.

"We've Got Issues": Big Pharma might not be lying

Expect a new Prevnar vaccine at your child's next visit

Expect a new Prevnar vaccine at your child's next visit

Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Prevnar 13, an expanded version of the current Prevnar vaccine that protects against bacterial infections that can lead to pneumonia and meninigitis.

Psych meds and children—what parents need to know

Psych meds and children—what parents need to know

We’ve all heard the stories in the news about Rebecca Riley, the 4-year-old who died in 2006 of an overdose of psychiatric medication. She made her first trip to a psychiatrist when she was two, because she was active and had trouble sleeping. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was only three–her ten-year-old brother and four-year-old sister had already been diagnosed with the same—and put on three different medications. By the time she died, she was taking more than ten pills a day. She got sick, and her mother, who was recently convicted in her death, gave her extra pills to make her sleep. Rebecca never woke up.

Doing an About-Face on ‘Overmedicated’ Children

Doing an About-Face on ‘Overmedicated’ Children

Picture a cupped hand. A capsule and a pill lie in the palm. The hand is extended toward a small child. The caption reads, “Take your vitamins.”

Mom's antidepressants may delay baby's first steps

When pregnant women take antidepressants, it sometimes causes their babies to hit developmental milestones late, Danish researchers reported on Monday.

More >> Mom's antidepressants may delay baby's first steps

Are mandatory vaccinations acts of violence against children?

This article refers to the parody cartoon found at (http://www.naturalnews.com/028211_v…). This parody cartoon grew out of the idea that vaccines are “shots” that are being increasingly forced upon children and teens. At times, these vaccines are enforced at gunpoint or with the presence of vicious guard dogs — as happened in Maryland two years ago when a court judge ordered thousands of parents to bring their children to court for vaccination or face gunpoint arrest and possible jail time. (http://www.naturalnews.com/022267.html)

More >> Are mandatory vaccinations acts of violence against children?

Questions posed over ADHD drugs

Long-term use of drugs such as Ritalin and dexamphetamine may not improve the social and emotional well-being or academic performance of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a study funded by the Western Australian government has concluded.

More >> Questions posed over ADHD drugs

PsychRights' Medicaid Fraud Initiative Against Psychiatric Drugging of Children & Youth.

The International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, Inc. is a nonprofit organization concerned with the increasing use of psychiatric drugs on children. The 2010 ICSPP Distinguished Lecture Series will begin Feb. 24 with a legal webinar presented by Attorney James Gottstein on PsychRights' Medicaid Fraud Initiative Against Psychiatric Drugging of Children & Youth.

More >> PsychRights' Medicaid Fraud Initiative Against Psychiatric Drugging of Children & Youth.

Big Pharma researcher admits to faking dozens of research studies for Pfizer, Merck

Big Pharma researcher admits to faking dozens of research studies for Pfizer, Merck

It's being called the largest research fraud in medical history. Dr. Scott Reuben, a former member of Pfizer's speakers' bureau, has agreed to plead guilty to faking dozens of research studies that were published in medical journals.

Questions posed over ADHD drugs

Questions posed over ADHD drugs

Long-term use of drugs such as Ritalin and dexamphetamine may not improve the social and emotional well-being or academic performance of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a study funded by the Western Australian government has concluded.

Prescription medication addiction affects mainly ages 12-17 in Arkansas

Pain can be a serious health problem. Many patients live with chronic pain and rely on medication to help them deal with it. In Today's Health, Dr. T. Glenn Pait talks about how meds used to treat those symptoms, cause problems of their own.

More >> Prescription medication addiction affects mainly ages 12-17 in Arkansas

Study questions widely-used ADHD drugs

Study questions widely-used ADHD drugs

An Australian study has revealed a "significant lack of effect" of conventional drugs used to treat ADHD, a finding that surprised at least one of its researchers.

FDA clears hypertension drug for children, teens

FDA clears hypertension drug for children, teens7

Daiichi Sankyo Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the hypertension treatment Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) for children and adolescents aged 6 to 16 years. Benicar was originally approved in 2002 to treat hypertension in adults.

How can we save our country from Ritalin generation (adhd drug)?

More >> How can we save our country from Ritalin generation (adhd drug)?

Oxytocin-Autism Study: the Kind of Evidence-Based Research Parents Need

Oxytocin may help improve social behavior in people with autism, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. There's a lot this study can't tell us; researchers studied just 13 young adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome, and it tested their social responses only in the laboratory, with a ball-tossing game and a measurement of how responsive they were to social cues in pictures of human faces.

More >> Oxytocin-Autism Study: the Kind of Evidence-Based Research Parents Need

Kids on ADHD drugs `poor at school'

CHILDREN with ADHD who use prescription drugs to manage their condition are 10 times more likely to perform poorly at school than ADHD kids who avoid medication, a new report reveals.

The report also finds stimulant drugs such as Ritalin and dexamphetamine make no significant difference to the level of depression, self-perception and social functioning of a 14-year-old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

More >> Kids on ADHD drugs `poor at school'

ADHD symptoms caused by lead exposure, new study claims

What causes the frequently diagnosed behavioral problem in children known as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that leads to countless youngsters being given side-effect laden stimulant drugs? Research has focused on genes and, more recently, on the idea that multiple environmental triggers could be the cause. For example, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a recent British study indicates that certain food additives like artificial colors or preservatives could cause ADHD symptoms in some children.

ADHD symptoms caused by lead exposure, new study claims

When the Best Rx Is No Rx

When Latonia Best's teenaged kids were little, doctors always prescribed antibiotics for their ear infections. But when her youngest son, 5-year-old Justin, was diagnosed with one recently, she heard something new: The pediatrician asked if she wanted to try waiting a few days to see if he would get better on his own.

More >> When the Best Rx Is No Rx

Generation X or Generation Rx

Generation X or Generation Rx

Alaska psychiatrists accused of wrongly medicating children

Alaska psychiatrists accused of wrongly medicating children

An Alaska mental health advocacy group that has spent years battling the pharmaceutical industry over medication is suing more than a dozen Alaska child psychiatrists, saying the doctors unnecessarily drugged children and committed Medicaid fraud.

The dangers of false certainty

The dangers of false certainty

We all -- physicians and patients -- must face up to our unavoidable ignorance on medical issues, and still try to make wise decisions

Can a pill cure intellectual disabilities?

The ability to improve an intellectually disabled person’s IQ sounds like science fiction, and not so long ago it was – but that is changing.

More >> Can a pill cure intellectual disabilities?

This Might Hurt

Anna Dragsbaeck has worked quietly for years to build support for expanding the state’s immunization registry, a database of vaccines given to Texans. Now the executive director of the Texas-based Immunization Partnership is ready for the spotlight: She and her allies are asking lawmakers to include all Texans in the registry. They’ll make their case before an influential Senate committee this month — and face an impassioned and formidable group of privacy proponents and anti-immunization parents.

More >> This Might Hurt

Massachusetts Mom Found Guilty of Daughter's Fatal Overdose

Massachusetts Mom Found Guilty of Daughter's Fatal Overdose

A Massachusetts woman was convicted of second-degree murder Tuesday in the fatal prescription drug overdose of her 4-year-old daughter.