The Brown University Geriatric Psychopharmacology Update articles from July 2008

The Brown University Geriatric Psychopharmacology Update archives from July 2008

Cautious optimism for therapeutic effects of tarenflurbil on mild AD.(New Directions in Alzheimer's Disease)
July 1, 2008... precis * A 12-month phase II placebo-controlled trial, with a 12-month extension, found that tarenflurbil 800 mg twice-daily was well tolerated and had significant effects on global function and ADL in patients with mild AD but not in...

Duloxetine shows improvements for elderly patients with GAD.(Generalized Anxiety Disorder)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2008... precis * Four randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of duloxetine were pooled to assess the efficacy of the drug in elderly patients (?65 years) with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). * Compared to placebo-controlled...

Case report: rapid onset hyperglycemia may be induced by olanzapine.(Adverse Events)
July 1, 2008... Reports of diabetes mellitus and hyperglycemia associated with the use of atypical antipsychotics have recently been reported in the literature. (1) The following report described an elderly patient who developed hyperglycemia three days after...

Bupropion for smoking cessation in moderately to severely depressed patients with CVD.(What's New in Research)
July 1, 2008... precis * Smokers with moderate to severe depression who are hospitalized for CVD are more likely to relapse to smoking following hospital discharge compared with hospitalized CVD patients with mild depression, according to a subgroup...

Greater functional decline with dual use of bladder anticholinergics and ChEIs.(What's New in Research)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2008... precis * Prospective cohort study of 3,536 nursing home residents (?65 years) found dual therapy with ChEIs and bladder anticholinergics (oxybutynin or tolterodine) resulted in worse ADL functional outcomes compared with patients taking...

Start of Phase III trial of gamma secretase inhibitor for mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.(News Notes)
July 1, 2008... Eli Lilly has announced the start of a phase III clinical trial of an investigational gamma secretase inhibitor (LY450139) for treating mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). The IDENTITY trial (Interrupting Alzheimer's Dementia by...

Inpatient use of medications for treating insomnia.(News Notes)
July 1, 2008... A group of University of Colorado Hospital physicians report that the use of sedative medications for treating insomnia in elderly hospitalized patients remains common. According to a retrospective chart review of 200 patients aged 65 years and...

Methylphenidate may be effective in treating vascular depression in elderly patients.(News Notes)
July 1, 2008... Results from a retrospective chart review indicate that methylphenidate significantly improved vascular depression in geriatric patients over 60 years of age. Eleven patients were diagnosed with DSM-III-R or DSM-IV-TR major depression, with...

Successful methylphenidate treatment for ADHD in an elderly woman.(Case Report)
July 1, 2008... Patient: Female, 67 years old Medication: Methylphenidate (Ritalin) Case: A 67-year-old woman presented with complaints of restlessness and forgetfulness, which she had experienced since childhood. She had been working as a realtor and...

New FDA approvals.(From the FDA)
July 1, 2008... * The FDA has given approval to aripiprazole (Abilify) for treating acute manic and mixed episodes of bipolar I disorder with or without psychotic features in adults as adjunctive treatment to lithium or valproate. The approval is based on...

Venlafaxine extended release (generic): Effexor XR (brand).(YOUR MEDICATION INFORMATION)
July 1, 2008... CLASSIFICATION: Serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressant. COMMON USAGE: Venlafaxine extended release is indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic...