Overdose Deaths from Common Sedatives Have Surged, New Study Finds
February 18, 2016—(BRONX, NY)—Headlines about America’s worsening drug epidemic have focused on deaths from opioids—heroin and prescription painkillers such as OxyContin. But overdose deaths have also soared among the millions of Americans using benzodiazepine drugs, a class of sedatives that includes Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Health System and the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania. Their findings appear online today in the American Journal of Public Health. (Source: Einstein News)
Source: Einstein News - February 18, 2016 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
Electronic health records can help catch undiagnosed cases of Type 2 diabetes, UCLA researchers find
In 2012, a group of UCLA researchers set out to mine thousands of electronic health records for a more accurate and less expensive way to identify people who have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes. The researchers got much more than they bargained for.
Not only did they develop an algorithm with the potential to vastly increase the number of correct diagnoses of the disease by refining the pool of candidates who are put forward for screening; they also uncovered several previously unknown risk factors for diabetes, including a history of sexual and gender identity disorders, intestinal infections and a category of illnesses tha...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - February 16, 2016 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
To Sleep, Perchance to Feel Rested
Like millions of Americans, I have an uneasy relationship with sleep, and I've spent the past year really digging into this under-appreciated aspect of our lives. I have dreamed up a new way of assembling research, data, new technologies and resources to help provide people with useful information so they can sleep soundly and feel better. (It's called "Sleep School." More on that below.) It is amazing how much of our society's attention has been obsessed with food and nutrition and countless diet fads in the past few decades. Even fitness has had its 15 minutes of fame -- from half-marathons to Pilates to personal tra...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - October 20, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
NHS drug shortages: why are we running out of some treatments in the UK?
The NHS is facing shortages of some important drugs used to relieve pain and treat cancer (Source: Telegraph Health)
Source: Telegraph Health - September 29, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: pills shortage bcg bladder cancer treatment drugs pain clonazepam nhs running out Source Type: news
IHC: Sucked clonazepam douses burning mouth syndrome
VALENCIA, SPAIN – Sucking on a clonazepam tablet for 3 minutes after every meal effectively reduced pain, paresthesia, dry mouth, and altered sense of taste in patients with burning mouth syndrome in a retrospective study.
Seventy-two patients who met International Headache Society <a...googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-cta'); (Source: Skin and Allergy News)
Source: Skin and Allergy News - August 1, 2015 Category: Dermatology Source Type: news
Is It Bedtime for Benzos?
“Bernard also laughed; after two grams of soma the joke seemed, for some reason, good. Laughed and then, almost immediately, dropped off to sleep.” — Aldous Huxley, Brave New World It’s been a tough few years for benzodiazepines, the pharmaceutical industry’s top-selling family of prescription drugs. Tough in every way, that is, except sales: Xanax remains the world’s most popular pill, and U.S. prescriptions for it and other benzos grow by 12 percent every year. It’s their reputation, long enjoyed, as harmless and effective medicines that’s taking a flurry of hits — some glancing, others on the nose. Fo...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - June 25, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news
These Special Omega-3s Beat Depression
Over the years, I’ve seen an increasing number of patients at my wellness clinic suffering from depression – many without even knowing it.
This terrible rise is a reflection of a growing epidemic of depression that’s happening all over the Western world.
Depression is often hard to diagnose, because the individual symptoms often point to so many other things.
Psychiatrists often talk about chemical imbalances in the brain – as if they really know what the right balance should be. They don’t. In fact, they’re guessing.
And it’s hard to calculate the very real impact of spending every weekda...
Source: Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies - April 24, 2015 Category: Complementary Medicine Authors: Dr. Al Sears Tags: Brain Health Nutrition antioxidant astaxanthin depression DHA EPA krill oil omega-3 fatty acids suicide Source Type: news
Medication and Sleep
This article was adapted from a previous article written by Dr. Moore for his column “Kevlar for the Mind.” (Source: Psych Central)
Source: Psych Central - March 30, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Bret Moore, PsyD Tags: Anti-anxiety Antidepressants Atypical Antipsychotics Benzodiazepines Depression Disorders General Medications Sleep Insomnia sleep disorder Sleeping Pills Source Type: news
Medication and Anxiety
Medication can be an effective approach for managing various types of anxiety such as panic, hyperarousal, and constant worry. However, contrary to popular belief and subtle messages from pharmaceutical companies, medication is far from a cure. In fact, when it comes to “cures” for most psychiatric conditions, the data tends to support psychotherapy.
For example, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) responds very well to psychotherapy, whereas the positive effects of medication are somewhat limited. The same is true for panic disorder. Although certain types of medication are very good at relieving panic sympt...
Source: Psych Central - March 11, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Bret Moore, PsyD Tags: Anti-anxiety Antidepressants Benzodiazepines Disorders General Medications Panic Disorder anti-anxiety medications Drug Dependency Fear Hyperarousal Sedatives Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor snri Ssri Substance Abuse Source Type: news
Transitioning Epilepsy Patients From Clonazepam to ClobazamTransitioning Epilepsy Patients From Clonazepam to Clobazam
This report makes recommendations while exploring the pharmacokinetic and clinical properties of these benzodiazepines. Journal of Medical Case Reports (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - February 27, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology & Neurosurgery Journal Article Source Type: news
The New Old Age: Continued Questions on Benzodiazepine Use in Older Patients
A new reports that among 65- to 80-year-old Americans, close to 9 percent use drugs like Valium, Xanax, Ativan and Klonopin. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - February 13, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: By PAULA SPAN Tags: Pain-Relieving Drugs Sedatives Elderly Drugs (Pharmaceuticals) Source Type: news
Driving whilst taking prescription medication
Legislation to be introduced on 2 March will set very low levels for eight well known illegal drugs, including cannabis and also eight prescription drugs, including clonazepam and diazepam.
BBC
Clonazepam - A to Z of MS
Diazepam - A to Z of MS (Source: Multiple Sclerosis Trust)
Source: Multiple Sclerosis Trust - February 10, 2015 Category: Neurology Source Type: news
All About Clonazepam (Brand names Klonopin,...
Klonopin - generic clonazepam, sold outside the US as Rivotril - is used to treat anxiety and panic disorder as well as certain seizure disorders. (Source: About.com Bipolar Disorder)
Source: About.com Bipolar Disorder - January 30, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: bipolar.guide at about.com Tags: health Source Type: news
Patient complains of bugs on her skin — could it be tox?
2.5 out of 5 stars
Case 37-2014: A 35-Year-Old woman with Suspected Mite Infestation. Beach SR et al. N Engl J Med 2014 Nov 27;371:2115-2123.
No abstract available
This case — part of the Journal‘s “Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital” series — describes a 35-year-old woman had presented to the emergency department complaining of a parasitic skin infection:
“During the 10 days before this presentation, she reported seeing white ‘granular balls,’ which she thought were mites or larvae, emerging from and crawling on her skin, sheets, and clothing and in her feces, apar...
Source: The Poison Review - December 13, 2014 Category: Toxicology Authors: Leon Tags: Medical amphetamine psychosis delusional parasitosis formication Source Type: news
