The Brown University Geriatric Psychopharmacology Update articles from September 2005

The Brown University Geriatric Psychopharmacology Update archives from September 2005

Experts debate treatment options for MCI--data found lacking.(Mild Cognitive Impairment: To Treat or not to Treat?)(Medical condition overview)
September 1, 2005... precis * Individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) face an increased risk of dementia, but some remain stable or revert to normal * Amnestic MCI, characterized by memory impairment but otherwise normal cognition, often...

Study explores reducing cardiac risk in patients with mild depression.(Depression in the Eldery)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2005... precis * SSRIs may reduce morbidity and mortality in depressed patients following acute myocardial infarction * 29-month, multisite, randomized, observational secondary analysis of 1,834 post-AMI patients diagnosed with depression ...

Valproic acid-induced hyperammonemia.(Drug-Drug Interactions)
September 1, 2005... Other than its primary use as an antiepileptic agent, valproic acid is increasingly used for management of different neuropsychiatric disorders, including psychiatric symptoms in patients with mania as well as episodic behavioral disturbances...

Treatments tested for end-of-dose wearing-off in Parkinson's.(What's New In Research)(Medical condition overview)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2005... precis * 10-week trial investigating safety and efficacy of Stalevo in PD patients with end-of-dose wearing-off * European, multicenter, open-label, parallelgroup, randomized, active treatmentcontrolled, phase IIIb study of 176...

No link between statin therapy and lower risk of dementia.(What's New In Research)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2005... precis * New, large-scale study of 2,798 elder subjects shows treatment with statins not associated with lower risk of dementia * Researchers suggest statin exposure may need to take place earlier in adulthood or for longer periods of...

November 15--National Memory Screening Day.(Brief article)
September 1, 2005... The Alzheimer's Foundation of America is holding its annual National Memory Screening Day on November 15, 2005. The non-invasive screenings, carried out by doctors, social workers or other healthcare professionals, are not used to diagnose...

Smell-identification scale may predict MCI in AD patients.(News Notes)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2005... A brief, 10-item smell identification scale to assess risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) appears to perform comparably with the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT)--a test which is widely used in research settings but...

Cerebral edema following abrupt withdrawal from pregabalin.(Case Report)(Medical condition overview)
September 1, 2005... Patient: Female, 80 y/o Medications: famciclovir (Famvir), hydrocodone/acetaminophen (Vicodin), propoxyphene/ acetaminophen (Darcovet-N, Genagesic, Wygesic), fentanyl transdermal (Duragesic), aspirin, levothyroxine (Levoxyl, Unithroid),...

Non-approvable letter for Namenda.(From the FDA)
September 1, 2005... The FDA has issued a non-approvable letter (July 25, 2005) in response to Forest Labs' supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for expanding indications of Namenda (memantine HCl) to include treatment of mild Alzheimer's disease. The FDA...

Nymox AlzheimAlert diagnostic kit rejected.(From the FDA)
September 1, 2005... The FDA's Immunology Devices Panel concluded on July 15, 2005 that Nymox Pharmaceutical's AlzheimAlert diagnostic "fails to improve the decision-making capability of physicians assessing patients for Alzheimer's disease." The panel vote was 5...