After reading these articles, you should be able to…

You may have noticed that a confusing array of new stimulants has been approved in the last few years. Since 2012, there have been five new amphetamines and two new methylphenidates. What are these preparations? Are any of them worth prescribing to your patients?

It’s nice when we can get our patients better with a single medication, but that’s not always possible. Sometimes the right combination of meds can do the trick, but studies of polypharmacy are scarce. In this article we dig through that research, small and limited as it is, to highlight a few useful combinations where the drug interaction can benefit your patient.

When it comes to computer alerts for drug interactions, the two issues to pay attention to are toxicity and loss of efficacy. Toxicity is the bigger concern, particularly if the drug has a “narrow therapeutic index,” where modest differences in the level can have dangerous effects.

Akathisia is a sensation of inner restlessness so unpleasant that it independently elevates the risk of suicide. Among atypicals, quetiapine (Seroquel) has the lowest risk of akathisia, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to take.

Probiotics, the so-called “good” bacteria in the gut flora, have become popular as a natural treatment for various disorders. They are taken as capsules or through food sources like yogurt, vinegar, and fermented foods.

Clozapine is often used as a last resort in schizophrenia, even though practice guidelines recommend a trial of this medication after failing 2 antipsychotics. The current study set out to test a treatment algorithm based on those guidelines in patients with first-episode psychosis.