New Systematic Review on Efficacy and Safety of Second Generation Antipsychotics (SGAs) for Off-Label Uses |  |
| Posted: 02 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Medical evidence suggests that psychiatric drugs known as atypical antipsychotics are effective in reducing symptoms for some off-label conditions, but not others, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Evidence supports the effectiveness of some atypical antipsychotics in reducing symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and behavioural symptoms in elderly patients with dementia, although significant side effects were noted. Researchers found insufficient evidence to support efficacy of the medications for treating eating disorders, substance abuse and insomnia. The findings are published in the Sept. 28 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "The use of atypical antipsychotic medications has spread rapidly beyond the illnesses they originally were developed to treat," said lead author Dr. Alicia Ruelaz Maher, a psychiatrist and researcher at RAND, a non-profit research organization. "While evidence suggests the drugs help reduce symptoms for some off-label illnesses, we found a lack evidence for others." Atypical antipsychotic medications are approved for marketing and labelling by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and depression under drug-specific circumstances. Use of atypical antipsychotic medications has grown rapidly, with one study estimating that treatment visits for the drugs increased from 6.2 million in 1995 to 14.3 million in 2008. Use of these drugs for off-label indications -- uses not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- doubled during the same period. While prescription medications frequently are prescribed for illnesses prior to approval by the FDA, concerns have been raised about the practice with atypical antipsychotics because they have substantial side effects. Researchers from the RAND-based Southern California Evidence-Based Practice Center... http://www.rxpgnews.com    |
| Adenosine Kinase Deficiency (AKD) - a new inherited neurometabolic disorder Posted: 01 Oct 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered a new inherited disorder that causes severe mental retardation and liver dysfunction. The disease, adenosine kinase deficiency, is caused by mutations in the ADK gene, which codes for the enzyme adenosine kinase. The findings, which are presented in the American Journal of Human Genetics, were made possible through the detailed biochemical examination of a Swedish family in which two children suffered from progressive brain damage and abnormal liver function that could not be traced to known mechanisms. One symptom displayed by the children was the impaired metabolism of the amino acid methionine. By sequencing all protein-coding gene sequences in the family – a process known as whole-exome sequencing – the team was able to identify a gene the function of which matched the biochemical abnormality. Whole-exome analyses were conducted at the Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) in Stockholm. Two additional unrelated families could then be identified with the same clinical profile and mutations in the same disease gene. The findings illustrate the strength of combining the detailed biochemical examination of patients with the large-scale methods of analysing our genetic makeup that have recently become available, in order to expose new mechanisms behind congenital diseases. Modern tools of genetic analysis make it considerably easier to identify the damage responsible for hereditary diseases, which is essential if the affected families are to receive correct information about their disease. It is also a critical first step towards the development of new therapies. The newly discovered disease, adenosine kinase deficiency, sheds light on an unexpected functional link between two known metabolic processes: the methionine cycle and adenosine/AMP metabolism, thus revealing a previously unknown pathogenetic mechanism. The study was led by Dr... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
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