Psychopharmacology_tips - Articles

How to Treat ADHD in Bipolar Disorder

November 5, 2021

Chris Aiken, MD. Editor-in-Chief of TCPR. Practicing psychiatrist, Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Aiken has disclosed no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Are stimulants risky in bipolar disorder? And which is safer – methylphenidate or amphetamine? Chris Aiken, MD, lays out a practical approach to the overlap of bipolar disorder and ADHD.

How to Switch Antipsychotics

February 3, 2021

Peter Smith, PsyD.

Peter Smith, PsyD. Dr. Smith has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Should you stop the old antipsychotic and start the new? Or gradually cross-taper them? This new meta-analysis compared three titration strategies to find the best way to switch from one antipsychotic to another in schizophrenia.

Keeping Up With Trintellix

October 6, 2020

Michael Posternak, MD.

Michael Posternak, MD. Psychiatrist in private practice, Boston, MA. Dr. Posternak has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Not satisfied with its claim to improve cognitive features of depression, Trintellix has ventured into new therapeutic arenas. Sometimes with success, sometimes with failure, we review where this novel antidepressant stands in schizophrenia, anxiety, cognitive decline, ADHD, sexual dysfunction, and binge eating disorder.

Mood Stabilizers: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt Them

October 6, 2020

Nicholas Rosenlicht, MD.

Nicholas Rosenlicht, MD. Dr. Rosenlicht has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

There are many mood stabilizers to choose from, but which ones are the best tolerated? This meta-analysis looks at how they stack up in terms of weight gain, sedation, and overall discontinuation.

Who Should Get Lithium?

September 3, 2020

Janusz Rybakowski, MD, PhD

Janusz Rybakowski, MD, PhD

Janusz Rybakowski is a pioneer in lithium research who has authored over 500 articles on clinical psychiatry. He is a professor of psychiatry at Poznan University in Poland, former chairman of psychiatry at the Medical Academy Bydgoszcz, and author of an upcoming textbook on lithium. Dr. Rybakowski has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Some patients respond so well to lithium that they rarely need other interventions. Janusz Rybakowski sums up what we know about the optimal lithium responder, how to use this underutilized medication, and what lithium’s antiviral properties mean in the era of COVID-19.

Trazodone: The Forgotten Antidepressant

May 7, 2020

Eugene Rubin, MD

Eugene Rubin, MD Private practice, Bingham Farms, MI. Dr. Rubin has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Trazodone is rarely used as an antidepressant, and that’s a missed opportunity. It lacks the weight gain, sleep disruption, and sexual side effects that so many antidepressants cause. In this article are two important dosing tips that can make it work better.

How to Choose an Antipsychotic in Schizophrenia

March 30, 2020

Rehan Aziz, MD.

Rehan Aziz, MD. Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Aziz has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Atypical antipsychotics are more alike than different, but a few stand out for tolerability, while others may have an edge for negative symptoms or for overall efficacy.

The Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project

March 30, 2020

David Osser, MD

David Osser, MD

General Editor of the Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project at the Harvard South Shore Psychiatry Residency Training Program and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University. Dr. Osser has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Dr. Osser set out to develop a psychopharmacology algorithm that actually changes practice. He speaks to us on antidepressants in bipolar, psychoses that don’t need antipsychotics, and his top picks for bipolar mania, bipolar depression, and unipolar depression.

How to Treat Tardive Dyskinesia

January 13, 2020

Chris Aiken, MD.

Chris Aiken, MD. Editor-in-Chief of The Carlat Psychiatry Report. Practicing psychiatrist, Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Aiken has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

The VMAT2 inhibitors are FDA approved for tardive dyskinesia (TD), but there are 8 off-label options to consider as well. See how they stack up here, and learn why the atypical antipsychotics ─ with one exception ─ have not put an end to this insidious side effect.

Antipsychotic Maintenance: How Long is Enough?

January 13, 2020

Chris Aiken, MD.

Chris Aiken, MD. Editor-in-Chief of The Carlat Psychiatry Report. Practicing psychiatrist, Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Aiken has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Atypical antipsychotics can work quickly in mood disorders, but their long-term risks give us pause. When is it safe to discontinue them? The answer, it turns out, depends on whether we look to industry-supported or industry-independent trials.