Proteus Aims to Boost IQ of Prescription Drugs

How can 'dumb' prescription pills be transformed into clever communicators? Proteus (News - Alert) Biomedical Inc. has an innovative approach: they've developed an ingestible microchip that can be embedded into medications for only a few cents per pill. When activated by stomach fluids, the sensor chips send signals to a personal wireless monitor worn in an adhesive patch like a Band-Aid. The monitor can then send the data, along with other physiological information, to a smart phone or other computerized device. The system hasn't hit the market yet, but Proteus recently announced FDA 510(k) clearance of the adhesive monitor. The ingestible sensors are currently in clinical trials. Proteus has dubbed the system the 'Raisin,' following in the footsteps of other fruit-themed technology pioneers (think Apple (News - Alert) and Blackberry).

Proteus Aims to Boost IQ of Prescription Drugs

Autistic children prescribed medicines for mental illnesses

RISING numbers of Welsh children are being put on psychiatric medication to treat conditions like autism and hyperactivity, figures obtained by the Western Mail reveal.

Autistic children prescribed medicines for mental illnesses

Psychiatric Medication Risk in Children

Psychiatric Medication Risk in ChildrenPsychiatric medicines can have serious side effects in children, including birth defects resulting from their mother’s use of the medication during pregnancy.

Psychiatric Medication Risk in Children

Report Urges More Curbs on Medical Ghostwriting

Should more light be shed on the relationships between drug makers and certain prominent doctors who publish scientific articles about their medicines?

A new Congressional report calls on medical journals, medical schools and even the National Institutes of Health to take additional measures to ensure the integrity of the scientific articles many doctors rely on to make treatment decisions for their patients.

Report Urges More Curbs on Medical Ghostwriting

The DSM5 Field Trial Proposal—An Expensive Waste of Time

Time is running out on DSM5 and the mistakes keep piling up. The latest puzzling misstep is the design for the DSM5 field trials. The APA will conduct a remarkably complex and expensive reliability study to determine whether 2 raters can agree on a diagnosis. It will devote enormous resources to answer a question that once mattered greatly but is now of quite limited interest. Meanwhile, DSM5 will perversely avoid the one question that does really count: ie, what will be its likely impact on the rates of psychiatric diagnosis? At least $2.5 million and 1 year later (or possibly 2, if things get delayed as I expect they will), DSM5 will still be flying completely blind on the safety of its proposals. I will list the 6 seriously disabling limitations of the DSM5 field trials—saving the absolutely fatal flaw for last:

The DSM5 Field Trial Proposal—An Expensive Waste of Time

Is your pediatrician harming your child?

We all make mistakes, but it's the last thing you'd want your doctor to admit to, especially when it comes to our children's health. But there is a new report that shows it's happening more often than you might think.

UPDATE:Pfizer Ends Pediatric Bipolar-Drug Trial Before It Starts

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Pfizer Inc. (PFE) has decided not to proceed with a late-stage clinical trial of its antipsychotic drug Geodon in children with bipolar disorder, a controversial area for the drug.

UPDATE:Pfizer Ends Pediatric Bipolar-Drug Trial Before It Starts

Psychotropic Drug Use in Foster Care System Under Investigation

Psychotropic Drug Use in Foster Care System Under Investigation

The US Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management has asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the prevalence of prescribed psychotropic medications for children in foster care. The estimated cost of prescribed medications, often used in the treatment of emotional and behavioural problems, may run to hundreds of millions of dollars each year in the United States alone. To date, only limited reports are available to determine the actual prevalence of psychotropic medication in foster children. Experts suggest that foster children are four times more likely to be prescribed antipsychotic or antidepressant medication than other children covered under Medicaid. One 2003 study of foster children in Florida indicated that 55 percent of children in the foster care system are being administered psychotropic medication although forty percent of those medicated had no history of a psychiatric evaluation.. Another study has indicated that anti-psychotic medication used has increased 528 from 2000 to 2005. A Texas study from 2004 showed that 34.7 percent of foster children were prescribed at least one psychotropic drug with some children taking five or more.

The Hazards of Psychiatric Diagnosis

"I have a biochemical imbalance."
"My kid is ADD."
"I'm Bipolar."
"I suffer from Clinical Depression."
"I have Panic Disorder."

The Hazards of Psychiatric Diagnosis

Court rules women can't be charged for taking drugs during pregnancy

Court rules women can't be charged for taking drugs during pregnancy

Women cannot be criminally charged for abusing alcohol or drugs during pregnancy, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a case that has generated national attention.

What Is Childhood Schizophrenia? What Causes Childhood Schizophrenia?

Childhood schizophrenia, also known as childhood-onset schizophrenia or early-onset schizophrenia is basically the same as schizophrenia in adults, but its onset occurs earlier in life. In some cases the patient may be ten years old, or even younger. Childhood schizophrenia can have a serious impact on the child’s ability to function properly.

What Is Childhood Schizophrenia? What Causes Childhood Schizophrenia?

Too many children are being prescribed drugs

As an educator, I am concerned about the overuse of drugs, such as Ritalin, for two main reasons:

Too many children are being prescribed drugs

Psychotropic Drug Abuse in Foster Care Costs Government Billions

Seven-year-old Gabriel Meyers didn't want soup for lunch one Thursday in April, 2009. When his 23-year-old foster brother sent Gabriel to his room for dumping his soup in the trash, Gabriel threatened to kill himself. He kicked his toys around his room, then locked himself in the bathroom.

Psychotropic Drug Abuse in Foster Care Costs Government Billions

Concerns over treating kids with Ritalin

With 5% of New Zealand children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), there are new concerns over whether or not the drug Ritalin is still the best method of treatment.

Concerns over treating kids with Ritalin

Consumer 10.0: Smoke shrouds recalls of children's drugs

U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns seemed to be getting angry last week, and I was beginning to understand why.

Consumer 10.0: Smoke shrouds recalls of children's drugs

Report links bullying and suicide

A new study by charity Beatbullying links bullying with suicide in teenagers, Georgia tells her story

Psychologist Says Antidepressants Are Just Placebos

Psychologist Says Antidepressants Are Just Placebos

I will dutifully report on yet another professional’s opinion about the research literature on antidepressants. This time the “antidepressant is just a placebo effect” argument comes from a psychologist.

New rules ensure kids in Oregon foster care get right psychiatric drugs, but not too many

Justin Snegirev mostly remembers feeling nauseous, tired and alone during the more than seven years he spent in state foster care.

New rules ensure kids in Oregon foster care get right psychiatric drugs, but not too many

Mental Illness in Children: Misdiagnosed and misunderstood

The typical lament Becky Turner hears from parents all the time goes something like this: "What does he have to be depressed about? He's only seven."

Mental Illness in Children: Misdiagnosed and misunderstood

Teen Screen doesn’t work

In response to “Suicide up out in the country” (DI, June 11): If the Teen Screen program that was implemented in the 2006-07 school year works, then why has the suicide rate gone up? The purpose of Teen Screen is to get more troubled kids on psychiatric drugs; the program unnecessarily refers teenagers to psychiatrists who prescribe them medications for handling depression. However, psychiatric drugs lead to worse problems than suicides: Check the facts related to the Columbine School mass murders and the many other instances since. The perpetrators were using medications at the time or had at least been on drugs prior to the shootings.

Teen Screen doesn’t work