Pharmacology - Articles - Page 2

Guanfacine ER for Adults With ADHD?

October 6, 2020

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

Children and adults respond differently to medications for ADHD. This first-of-its-kind trial tested out the pediatric-approved guanfacine ER (Intuniv) in adult ADHD.

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.

RESEARCH UPDATE

Two Augmentation Strategies Compared in Bipolar I

September 3, 2020

Richard Moldawsky, MD

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

Carbamazepine or valproic acid? Both have been used to augment lithium for decades, but which one works best? A new trial tests them head-to-head.

Tips on Choosing an Antipsychotic for Schizophrenia

August 26, 2020

Which antipsychotics should we consider selecting as the first-line and second-line treatments, and what should we base this decision on? Dr. Aziz addresses this in a past article from The Carlat Psychiatry Report. Here’s some of his advice:Process: Tolerability instead of efficacy should be considered when selecting a first-line treatment.

“What About the Implant, Doc?” Appraising Various Formulations of Buprenorphine

August 6, 2020

Edmund S. Higgins, MD.

Edmund S. Higgins, MD. Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine, MUSC, Charleston, SC. Dr. Higgins has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Buprenorphine can be administered via intravenous, transdermal, sublingual, buccal, and implanted formulations. We appraise the evidence for various formulations and suggest certain populations for which certain formulations may be a better choice.

Updated Guidelines for Treating Opioid Use Disorder

August 6, 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

The American Society of Addiction Medicine released updated guidelines for the management of opioid use disorder (OUD) in March, 2020. They focus on expanding access to methadone and buprenorphine. Additionally, detailed guidance is given for perioperative management of OUD and pain management in patients with OUD.

A Possible Option in Opioid-Related Harm Reduction

August 6, 2020

Greg Sazima, MD

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

Medications are the mainstay of treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), but what if patients decline buprenorphine, injectable naltrexone, and methadone? In this randomized trial, authors compared hydromorphone (Dilaudid) with diacetylmorphine (the active ingredient in heroin) among patients who reported injecting heroin.

Efficacy and Acceptability of Varenicline for Alcohol Use Disorder

August 6, 2020

Richard Moldawsky, MD

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

Smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol have reciprocal influences on each other. In this meta-analysis of nine randomized studies, the authors appraise the evidence for varenicline use for alcohol use disorder specifically.

The “Z-Drugs”: Safety Issues and Misuse Potential

June 10, 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.

Once heralded for their relative safety compared to benzodiazepines, the “Z-drugs” are now known to be one of the most common causes of adverse drug events. Here we review the risks of Z-drugs and highlight updated dosing recommendations for zolpidem.

Muscle Relaxants: Sedatives Often Under the Radar

June 10, 2020

Michael Weaver, MD, FASAM.

Michael Weaver, MD, FASAM. Professor and medical director at the Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addictions at the University of Texas Medical School. Author of Addiction Treatment (Carlat Publishing, 2017). Dr. Weaver has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Muscle relaxants encompass medications with different mechanisms of action—many of which have been used for decades. Yet most are sedating, can have significant side effects, and can interact with opioids and other substances to worsen CNS and respiratory depression.