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Psychiatry
US study challenges assumptions about youth and digital media
A study of young people’s digital media use suggests smartphone ownership may actually benefit children – but also a link between social media posting...
Microdosing LSD no benefit for ADHD – Swiss study
ADHD symptoms are not lessened or helped by microdoses of LSD, scientists have concluded, after the first randomised controlled trial found that the psychedelic...
Study links anti-depressants to higher risk of sudden cardiac death
Anti-depressants could increase the risk of sudden cardiac death up to five-fold, suggest Danish researchers, who found patients taking the medications for between one...
Move to quit psychiatric medication gains momentum
American author Laura Delano walked away from the treatments that defined her teens and 20s. Now, she’s hoping to create a road map for...
ADHD scripts in England up by 18% each year since pandemic
The number of prescriptions being issued in England for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication has risen by 18% year-on-year since the pandemic, with...
FDA expands access for schizophrenia drug
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has eliminated a longstanding requirement that patients taking clozapine, an anti-psychotic used for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, to submit...
Legalised cannabis tied to more schizophrenia cases – Canadian study
Scientists have suggested that Canada’s legalisation of cannabis may be linked to an escalation in schizophrenia cases, according to their research findings.
Over a 16-year...
Australian state psychiatrists resign en masse
Years of unresolved staff shortages and under-resourcing drove more than half of all psychiatrists working in public mental health in Australia’s largest state to...
ADHD linked to earlier deaths – UK study
Recent concerning findings in a British study of more than 30 000 adults diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) showed that on average,...
J&J’s ketamine nasal spray approved by FDA
The US Food and Drug Administration has expanded approval for Johnson & Johnson’s ketamine-derived nasal spray, Spravato, to allow it to be used as a...
Millions of mental diagnoses linked to lead in petrol – US study
A recent study has suggested that a history of lead in petrol – going back to as early as the 1920s – could be...
Patient sues Algerian author for allegedly using her story in novel
An Algerian woman has sued the winner of France’s biggest book prize, claiming he based his story on her, using confidential information from when...
Teens’ anxiety, depression, rises after four hours’ screen time, say experts
Teenagers who spend four or more hours in front of the screen each day are more likely to experience anxiety and depression, according to a new report from...
Doctor blames US politics for unpublished puberty blocker study
An influential doctor and advocate of adolescent gender treatments said she had not published a long-awaited study of puberty-blocking drugs because of the charged...
Rethinking adult ADHD
A leading British psychiatrist and specialist in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – who was diagnosed with the condition when he was 34 –...
First new schizophrenia drug in decades approved by FDA
No new treatments for schizophrenia have been approved in nearly three decades, but last week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Cobenfy for the...
Prescription amphetamine tied to higher psychosis risk – US study
Amphetamine use has risen steadily in the US over the past few years – up 70% between 2011 and 2021 – with a recent...
How to tackle South Africa's high suicide rate
Not only does South Africa have the third highest suicide rate in Africa, but Africa itself has higher rates of suicide than any other...
Questions remain on weight loss drugs' suicide risk – US study
A recent study of an international drug safety database – suggesting people taking semaglutide are likelier to think about suicide than those taking other...
Race in schizophrenia drug sphere hots up
Bristol Myers Squibb’s highly-anticipated schizophrenia drug KarXT is fast approaching its September FDA decision date, and competition is already heating up in a market that...
Researchers suggest PANS/PANDAS link to inflammatory condition
Researchers have suggested a new component to the long controversial diagnosis of paediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) – along with the related paediatric autoimmune...
Cape teens struggle with depression – SA study
Western Cape researchers are concerned after findings that 33% of 10- to 14-year-olds had experienced symptoms like sadness and hopelessness, with more than 80%...
Antidepressant withdrawal symptoms common – meta-analysis
At least 15% of people who stop taking antidepressants will suffer from withdrawal symptoms, suggests a recent analysis, which found dizziness, headache and nausea...
FDA clears digital app for depression treatment
The US Food and Drug Administration is allowing the use of Rejoyn, the first prescription digital treatment for major depressive disorder that involves an innovative approach...
New sentencing date for Dickason
Former doctor Lauren Dickason, convicted of the murder of her three daughters – and currently in custody at the psychiatric Hillmorton Hospital – will...
Autism and ADHD can co-exist and cases are growing, says expert
A British expert on the subject is spreading the awareness of what was once an unbelievable message: that both autism and ADHD can co-exist...
Focus on children, urges psychiatrists' society head
Concerned experts have pointed out the serious gaps in psychiatry regarding the treatment, prevention and care for children and adolescents in South Africa, saying...
Benzodiazepine in pregnancy tied to miscarriage risk – Taiwan study
A nationwide study in Taiwan found that benzodiazepine use during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of miscarriage – for both long-acting and...
Hypochondriacs have higher risk of death, suicide – Swedish study
Researchers have linked hypochondria to an 84% higher risk for death, and a four-fold increased risk for suicide, with the findings of their population-based...
Experts advise monitoring of acne drug’s adverse psychiatric effects
The common skin condition of acne has been associated with considerable morbidity, particularly psychiatric and psychological, but one of the most efficacious treatments, isotretinoin,...
Childhood ADHD medicines not linked to higher substance use later – US study
Providing a smidgen of reassurance to parents and clinicians, researchers say children prescribed with stimulants for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not have...
Transgenders nearly eight times likelier to commit suicide – Denmark study
In a world first, researchers have found that transgender people in Denmark have a significantly higher risk of suicide than other groups, with the...
Contraceptive pills tied to depression – large Swedish study
Recent research, the largest of its kind, has found that women using combined contraceptive pills had more risk of developing depression than those who...
Ketamine better than ECT for depression – Harvard study
In what signals relief and hope for clinically depressed patients, a recent study suggests that ketamine could be a promising alternative to electroconvulsive therapy,...
Lack of sleep heightens infection risks – Norwegian study
People who sleep less than six hours a night are 27% more likely to have had an infection in the past three months, compared...
Why antidepressants cause emotional ‘blunting’ – UK-Danish study
Scientists have explained why common antidepressants cause half of most users to feel emotionally “blunted”, their recent collaborative study showing that the drugs affect...
Twice the risk of PPD if psychiatric disorder in family – Danish review
Danish researchers have found women suffering post-partum depression (PPD), with a family history of a psychiatric disorder, have almost twice the risk of developing...
Psychiatric disorder risk may increase after severe COVID and acute respiratory infections – Oxford study
A UK study had found that the more than 32,000 survivors of severe COVID-19 and more than 16,000 survivors of other severe respiratory infections...
Anti-depressants not linked to better quality of life, over time – Saudi study
A study by a team in Saudi Arabia has found that in the long run, using anti-depressants is not associated with a significantly better...
Exercising even 50% of recommended amount reduces depression risk – Cambridge study
Already known to help ease depression, regular exercise may also help prevent it, with people who exercised just half the recommended weekly amount lowering...