Important aspects in the management of neurocardiogenic syncope
Neurocardiogenic syncope is the most common cause of syncope. Initial measures in management include lifestyle modifications, increasing the fluid and salt intake and education about physical counterpressure methods. Pharmacological measures may be tried next. Pacemaker implantation has been tried in those with predominantly cardioinhibitory syncope [1]. Physical counterpressure measures are movements like leg crossing and hand gripping which may prevent loss of consciousness in those who feel the presyncopal symptoms. These measures increase the systemic vascular resistance and blood pressure to counter the vasodepressiv...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 20, 2021 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis Tags: General Cardiology Source Type: blogs

Side-Deals as Part of Pharma Patent Settlements: a New Landscape after Servier and Paroxetine?
Amalia Athanasiadou, Side-Deals as Part of Pharma Patent Settlements: a New Landscape after Servier and Paroxetine?; 41 E.C.L.R. 12 (2020): The main objective of this paper is to shed some clarity on the applicable criteria for the antitrust analysis of... (Source: HealthLawProf Blog)
Source: HealthLawProf Blog - February 23, 2021 Category: Medical Law Authors: Katharine Van Tassel Source Type: blogs

The Art of Prescribing (Or Not)
By HANS DUVEFELT I have learned a few things about prescribing medications during my 42 years as a physician. Some are old lessons, and some are more recent. I thought I’d share some random examples. First: I don’t like to have to use medications, but when they seem necessary, I choose, present and prescribe them with great care. CHOOSING MEDICATIONS Medications are like people. They have personalities. With so many choices for any given diagnosis or symptom, I consider their mechanism of action, possible beneficial additional effects and their risk of unwanted side effects when selecting which one to presc...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 1, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Medical Practice Patients Physicians Primary Care Hans Duvefelt Source Type: blogs

Top 25 Psychiatric Medications for 2018
Psychiatric medications are an important part of treatment for many people with mental disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, anxiety, and others. They play an important role in helping to alleviate the most serious symptoms, allowing people to better focus on their lives and on other treatment types, such as psychotherapy. Psychiatric medications are an important part of many people’s treatment plans for obtaining the most effective treatment for a mental health concern or mental illness. It’s good to know what drugs are being prescribed most often for mental disorders in the U.S...
Source: World of Psychology - December 15, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: General Medications Psychiatry psychiatric meds psychiatric prescriptions Source Type: blogs

Gene Testing for Antidepressants & Psychotropics: Not There Yet
An increasingly common question I get asked is, “Will gene testing help my doctor know which antidepressant to prescribe?” Popular tests such as GeneSight suggests that they can “shorten your road to recovery” and how you, as an individual, will respond to specific antidepressant medications. Does drug-gene testing, also referred to as pharmacogenomics or pharmacogenetics, work? And if so, does it only work for certain types of medications? Let’s find out. The Promise of Gene Testing The idea of gene-drug testing is pretty simple. By testing your DNA, companies hope to be able to predict your...
Source: World of Psychology - December 11, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: Depression Disorders General Medications Treatment drug-gene testing gene-drug gene-drug test pharmacogenetics pharmacogenomics Source Type: blogs

Prescription Drugs That Block Weight Loss
A number of drugs prescribed to treat common conditions, such as hypertension, allergies, depression, inflammation, and diabetes, block your ability to lose weight. Several of these drugs actually cause weight gain, and most doctors fail to inform their patients of such side effects. Among the drugs that block weight loss are: Beta-blockers: metoprolol, atenolol, carvedilol, and propranolol  Antidepressants: amitriptyline (Elavil), nortriptyline (Pamelor), doxepin, paroxetine (Paxil), trazodone, and others Steroids: prednisone and hydrocortisone (but not inhaled or nasal steroids for allergies) Antihistamines: diphenhydr...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - May 7, 2019 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: News & Updates blood sugar drugs failed weight loss fatigue weight loss hypertension insulin prescription drugs undoctored wheat belly Wheat Belly Total Health Source Type: blogs

Monday 29 April 2019
Yes, that’s next Monday.  That’s four days away. It’s the day that the trial starts in the UK… I’m talking about the High Court action against GlaxoSmithKline that is being taken by a group of UK patients who are determined to finally have their day in court confronting GlaxoSmithKline. It has been a long slog with many false starts but we have finally, finally made it.  Over the years there were times I really did think that we would never get to court. But we have and I for one am ready. And this time GSK, it’s personal. Let’s shine a light under this particular stone and let the press ...
Source: seroxat secrets... - April 25, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: admin Tags: Big Pharma GSK Paxil Seroxat Source Type: blogs

Discontinuation syndrome and antidepressants
Discontinuation and change are part of life. We all start and stop various activities. Jobs change, relationships change. So, too, may medical treatments, such as antidepressants that help many people navigate depression and anxiety. Planning changes in advance tends to make things easier and smoother. You may start a medication for treatment and discover that it’s not helping your particular medical issue. Or perhaps you’re having side effects. Or maybe your condition has improved, and you no longer need the drug. If so, working with your doctor to change or stop taking an antidepressant slowly may help you avoid unc...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 4, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christopher Bullock, MD Tags: Anxiety and Depression Mental Health Source Type: blogs

For f. ’s sake…
Mustering solid evidence, two psychiatrists have denounced their field’s standard guidelines for how best to wean patients from depression medications. In one 2010 study cited in the new paper, Japanese researchers found that 78 percent of people trying to taper off Paxil suffered severe withdrawal symptoms. The research team had them taper much more slowly, over an average of nine months and for as long as four years. With this regimen, only 6 percent of subjects experienced withdrawal. In another study, Dutch researchers in 2018 found that 70 percent of people who’d had trouble giving up Paxil or Effexor quit their p...
Source: seroxat secrets... - March 11, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: admin Tags: Anti-depressant Drug Marketing Seroxat Seroxat & Addiction Source Type: blogs

Acute Angle Closure: Mastering Tonometry
​Identifying and managing disease often requires the delicate and skillful use of temperamental emergency department machinery. The ability to apply these may appropriately help determine a difficult diagnosis.Glaucoma, we all know, can cause blindness, and acute narrow angle glaucoma refers to the angles within the eye that are not as wide and open as normal. People with acute angle glaucoma have abnormal anatomy within the eye where the angle changes as the eye is dilated. This can cause blockages of fluid drainage from the anterior to posterior changes resulting in increased intraocular pressure. It ca lead to acute a...
Source: The Procedural Pause - November 9, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs

Can I Become Addicted To My Depression Medication?
What is depression medication? Depression medication, also known as antidepressants, are prescription medications used to treat moderate to severe depression. When taken under the supervision of a medical professional and according to their prescribed dosage, depression medication can work well to help people manage their symptoms and lead happy, healthy lives. Depression is more than just feeling sad, or needing to be cheered up. Often times, people can become frustrated that nothing is making them feel better, when in reality depression is a chemical imbalance that needs to be treated. Depression symptoms can include: T...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 12, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Recovery Depression Depression Treatment antidepressants depression disorders depression medication dual diagnosis Source Type: blogs

Prof David Baldwin, Prof Wendy Burn & the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
So, I came on this via twitter. It features Prof David Baldwin, Prof Wendy Burn and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. I think it’s time to get my soapbox out again…  I take issue with quite a few things in this story, the most outrageous claim being the assertion made by Baldwin & Burn that “… In the vast majority of patients, any unpleasant symptoms experienced on discontinuing anti-depressants have resolved within two weeks of stopping treatment…” It is very worrying that in 2018 two very high profile mental health professionals can make a statement that is quite so wrong – and dangerous. I reall...
Source: seroxat secrets... - September 25, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: admin Tags: Anti-depressant Big Pharma Drug Marketing Seroxat Source Type: blogs

Anxiety and Addiction
Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders Anxiety is a complex condition that affects millions of people all over the world. It is a broad term in itself and can look different on everybody. It is literally defined as: “a nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behavior or panic attacks.” Often times, anxiety and addiction can also go hand-in-hand. Much like anxiety, panic attacks can be completely different for everybody who experiences them. You may experience all symptoms, or only some. Some symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks may include: Rapid heartbeat ...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - September 11, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction to Pharmaceuticals Addiction Treatment and Program Resources Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Alcoholism Anxiety Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment Dual Diagnosis and Eating Disorder Treatment Source Type: blogs

" Hope in a Bottle " - Components of Purdue Pharma Stealth Marketing Campaign for Oxycontin Revealed by Legal Documents from Tennessee
Introduction: Disinformation and Stealth Marketing CampaignsBack in the distant past the US government made some attempt to hold big health care corporations to account for misleading marketing practices.  We learned a lot about these practices from documents revealed in the resulting litigation, and in particular, about stealthy, deceptive systematicmarketing,lobbying, andpolicy advocacy campaigns on behalf of big health care organizations, often pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies.  For example, in 2012 wefound out about the stealth marketing campaign used by GlaxoSmithKline to sell its a...
Source: Health Care Renewal - July 8, 2018 Category: Health Management Tags: deception disinformation narcotics perverse incentives propaganda public relations Purdue Pharma stealth marketing Source Type: blogs

Might Depression Be Linked to One of These Popular Medications?
If you’re taking beta blockers, certain kinds of anxiety drugs, certain types of painkillers (including ibuprofen), proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) (used to treat acid reflux), ACE inhibitors (used to treat high blood pressure), or anti-convulsant drugs, you may be at greater risk for depression. That’s according to a new, large-scale study published earlier this week in JAMA. However, this was a correlational study, so it can’t say that these medications actually cause depression or not. It may be that people with greater health problems are more likely to take one of these medications and be depressed abo...
Source: World of Psychology - June 15, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: Depression General Medications Psychiatry Research Drugs cause depression popular medications Source Type: blogs