Critics doubt record settlement will be enough
The $3 billion fine recently leveled against GlaxoSmithKline is the largest settlement ever involving a pharmaceutical company. But in light of the enormous profits that the British pharmaceutical...
View ArticleJournal article calls for new definition of ‘antidepressant’
In a recent article in the scientific journal Scientifica, two mental health professionals call for a redefinition of the term “antidepressant.” David Antonuccio, psychologist at the Department of...
View ArticleHistoric settlement has no impact on GSK stock
Forbes reports that pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline’s stock prices haven’t dropped at all in the wake of a historic $3 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over illegally marketing...
View ArticlePaxil maker bribed doctors with extravagant gifts
A story in Mother Jones magazine details some of the tactics that pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline used to illegally market medications including the antidepressant Paxil. Those tactics included a...
View ArticleGSK Paxil settlement has lessons for consumers
According to a Consumer Reports blog entry, the recent historic $3 billion settlement against pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline carries some important lessons for consumers. The company’s illegal...
View ArticleAntidepressant makers commit ethical breaches
An entry on the blog The Poptort.com mentions a civil complaint by the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston against drug maker Forest Laboratories, alleging the company defrauded the government out of...
View ArticleCreatine shows promise for treating depression
A recent study suggests that creatine, a supplement commonly used by athletes to help build muscle mass, is a promising treatment for depression. According to an article in The Atlantic, researchers...
View ArticleNew genetic test could help improve antidepressant use
In a column for Fox News, psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow writes of recently available laboratory testing that helps psychiatrists identify which antidepressants are the best match for a patient’s genetic...
View ArticleAuthors explore mental illness ‘epidemic’
An article in the New York Review of Books takes a look at three recent titles exploring a current American phenomenon that writer Marcia Angell terms a “rampaging epidemic of mental illness.” The...
View ArticleBook takes critical look at antidepressant marketing
Scientific American recently reviewed the book “The Emperor’s New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth,” which takes a critical look at antidepressants, and at the pharmaceutical companies that...
View ArticleArticle questions psychiatry’s reliance on drugs
In an article for the New York Review of Books, Marcia Angell examines the latest edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as well as...
View ArticleDrug maker apologizes for birth defects
The German manufacturer of the drug thalidomide, which has been blamed for about 10,000 birth defects, has issued its first apology to victims in 50 years, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports. Harald...
View ArticleAlternatives exist to antidepressants
In a column for the Chicago Daily Herald, Patrick B. Massey, M.D., Ph.D, explores the question of how effective antidepressants are, and what alternatives are available. Antidepressants are now the...
View ArticleStudy: Antidepressants raise accident risk
According to a story in the Daily Mail, a study from the University of Taiwan finds that taking common antidepressants increases the risk of automobile accidents. Researchers found those taking a...
View ArticleResearch may aid treatment of depression
According to a Reuters story, scientists have identified biological markers in the blood that may eventually help doctors match patients to the best type of treatment for depression. The story says...
View ArticlePanelists question antidepressant use
During a panel discussion on clinical depression at Marquette University in Wisconsin, some participants speculated that antidepressants might be over-prescribed. An article about the event in the...
View ArticleSurvey: Antidepressants not the only treatment
Consumer Reports conducted a survey about antidepressant use, compiling answers from 1,500 respondents. According to an article accompanying the survey results, the findings contradict the implications...
View ArticleStudy links antidepressants, developmental delay
Babies born to mothers who took antidepressants classified as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors show delayed speech development, according to a study cited in Medpage Today. Researchers from the...
View ArticleResearchers: Pregnant women should avoid antidepressants
Researchers are recommending that pregnant women with past episodes of mild to moderate depression stay away from a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. An article...
View ArticleMedical journals print biased studies
An article in the Washington Post says major medical journals routinely print studies over which pharmaceutical companies can exert major influence. That company influence “has become a common practice...
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