Mirtazapine and Vitamin B6 May Be Best Options for Antipsychotic-Induced Akathisia

APA ’s Good Faith Estimates Survey: Please Respond TodayThe No Surprises Actrequires clinicians to provide patients who are uninsured or are insured but choose not to submit claims through their health plan with a Good Faith Estimate of the cost of care. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has asked APA for your feedback on efforts to comply with these requirements and any educational support you may need from CMS. The deadline istoday, March 8.TAKE SURVEYAkathisia —a feeling of restlessness that is often accompanied by movements like rocking or pacing—is a common side effect of antipsychotic medications. Ameta-analysis published inJAMA Network Open suggests that biperiden, mirtazapine, and vitamin B6 are the three most effective treatment options for antipsychotic-induced akathisia.Cyril Gerolymos, M.D., of Aix-Marseille Universit é in Marseille, France, and colleagues compiled data from 15 randomized clinical trials testing potential pharmacotherapies for akathisia in people taking antipsychotics. The combined data included 492 patients, 324 of whom received an active drug and 168 received placebo. Ten medications were eval uated: biperiden, clonazepam, cyproheptadine, mianserin, mirtazapine, propranolol, trazodone, valproate, vitamin B6, and zolmitriptan.The researchers noted that clinicians should be prudent about interpreting their results due to the small sample size, but offered the following findings:Six medications were found to be effective. They w...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: akathisia antipsychotic JAMA Network Open meta-analysis mirtazapine restlessness trazodone vitamin B6 Source Type: research