When psychiatric medications are abruptly discontinued, withdrawal symptoms may be mistaken for relapse

Withdrawal symptoms following the practice of discontinuation, or abruptly “coming off,” of psychiatric drugs in randomized clinical trials may be mistaken for relapse and bolster the case for continued use of medication, according to two new studies by UCLA researchers published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.Principal investigatorDavid Cohen, professor of social welfare in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, said that clinical trials employing a drug discontinuation procedure had not previously been studied systematically.“For years, observers have asked whether people getting more symptoms when they came off their medication was their disorder returning or the withdrawal effects from drugs that could be reduced by more gradual, patient-centered discontinuation,” Cohen said.In light of the difficulties that people have in discontinuing psychiatric medications, Cohen sought to answer that question, joined by co-author Alexander R écalt, a doctoral student in social welfare at UCLA Luskin who is also pursuing a master’s degree at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.They looked at how and why antidepressants, antipsychotics and stimulants were deliberately discontinued from trial subjects in more than 80 randomized controlled trials from 2000 –2017. The study also included benzodiazepines, a class of drugs such as Valium, upon which long-term users may become dependent and experience withdrawal symptoms.In thefirst study, the researche...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news