‘Medications’ at Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life, Page 3

Parents continue to experience problems removing the backing of the new Daytrana patch for ADHD, according to user feedback collected at CounsellingResource.com. Nonetheless, we’ve received three times as many reports of positive overall experiences as reports of negative experiences with Daytrana. Our users have also contributed several suggestions about removing the Daytrana patch adhesive from the skin, and many questions about using the medication. For example, is it OK to cut the patches in half or thirds?

Not enough is known about the potential dangers associated with antidepressant medications, according to the UK’s Mental Health Foundation. The group has responded to the controversy about the GlaxoSmithKline Seroxat case covered in an expose by the Panorama programme.

Interesting developments in mental health news last week include the first skin patch for treating Alzheimer’s disease, an FDA public health warning about serotonin syndrome from combining certain anti-depressants with certain headache medications, and word of apparently serious conflicts of interest at two major medical journals publishing studies about vagus nerve stimulation and about the use of antidepressants during pregnancy.

As new government figures show that prescriptions for antidepressants have increased by 33 per cent in the last six years, costing the UK economy over £28 million, a mental health charity today says it has been awarded £95,000 by the Department of Health to promote exercise as an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression.

Are you still trying to quit smoking, but finding that will power just isn’t enough? Help may be at hand, because varenicline, to be marketed in tablet form as Chantix, has now been approved by the FDA, joining bupropion (marketed as Zyban) as only the second nicotine-free smoking cessation product available to US consumers. Unlike nicotine replacement therapies, drugs like varenicline work both by cutting the pleasure of smoking and by reducing the withdrawal symptoms that lead smokers to keep lighting up.