The Brown University Geriatric Psychopharmacology Update articles from October 2002

The Brown University Geriatric Psychopharmacology Update archives from October 2002

Two breakthrough therapies emerging for Parkinson's disease. (Drugs in the Pipeline).
October 1, 2002... Two breakthrough therapies for the treatment of Parkinson's disease were recently announced. In August, Cephalon, Inc. and H. Lundbeck A/S revealed the initiation of a new North American clinical trial of the compound CEP-1347 for use in...

Update on memantine--new drug for Alzheimer's still being studied. (Drugs in the Pipeline).
October 1, 2002... On July 31, Forest Laboratories filed a new drug application (NDA) for memantine as a possible new treatment alternative for patients with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). This agent has undergone extensive investigation in the...

Bupropion combined with trimipramine linked to seizures. (Drug-Drug Interactions).
October 1, 2002... Bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban), an antidepressant, has been reported to be useful in the management of patients with treatment-resistant depression when combined with either a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or tricyclic antidepressant....

ChE inhibition correlated with cognitive effects. (Clinical Notes).
October 1, 2002... Researchers evaluated the effects of 12-month treatment with rivastigmine (Exelon), an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase BuChE) inhibitor, in patients with mild dementia and a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease (AD)....

Risperidone clearance may not be affected by age. (Clinical Notes).
October 1, 2002... Researchers conducted a naturalistic study of risperidone (Risperdal) concentrations in 20 elderly inpatients. The study examine the relationship between concentrations of risperidone and its active metabolite, 9-hydroxyrisperidone (9-OH) and...

SSRIs and cognitive improvement in the elderly. (Clinical Notes).
October 1, 2002... Researchers compared the impact of two selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), paroxetine (Paxil) and fluoxetine (Prozac), on cognitive functioning in 242 elderly patients with depression. The double-blind, parallel-group trial was...

IND filed for Alzhemed. (News Updates).
October 1, 2002... Neurochem recently announced the filing of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA for Alzhemed, a potential new treatment for Alzheimer's disease. A Phase II trial of Alzhemed is scheduled to begin this fall to investigate the...

Visual association test may diagnose early AD. (News Updates).
October 1, 2002... Researchers have found that a visual association test (VAT) can help differentiate early Alzheimer's disease from other forms of dementia. The test is based on imagery mnemonics and poor results are relatively uncommon in patients with...

PD may cause permanent reorganization of neurons. (News Updates).
October 1, 2002... Researchers examining the first-ever microelectrode map of the sensorimotor portion of the basal ganglia in the Parkinsonian brains of rats may have discovered why dopamine replacement therapy does not reverse the damage of Parkinson's disease....

Drug manufacture rules to be updated. (News Updates).
October 1, 2002... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to update the rule for drug manufacturing for the first time in 25 years. Many big factories have recently failed to meet current standards set by the FDA. For example, Eli Lilly said last month...

Rhabdomyolysis with simvastatin and nefazodone. (Case Report).
October 1, 2002... # Patients: 1 male (72 y/o) Medications: nefazodone (Serzone), simvastatin (Zocor), and others Comments: A 72-year-old man was referred for severe depression and anxiety. He had a history of depression, anxiety, insulin-dependent...

Escitalopram (generic) ~ Lexapro (brand). (Your Medication Information).
October 1, 2002... Classification: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Common Usage: Escitalopram is indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder and maintenance treatment of major depressive disorder. Common Dosages: The...