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Dangers of overdose after coming out of drug‐free rehab
It has been known for years that people formerly dependent on opioids who have been abstinent for a few weeks after inpatient treatment are at increased risk for overdose during that period. This was first proven in studies of people who had been incarcerated, and therefore abstinent. The seminal article on deaths after release from incarceration was published by Ingrid A. Binswanger and colleagues in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2007; at that time, drug overdoses — about half from cocaine and half from opioids — were the leading cause of death after release from incarceration (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10...
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - February 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Substance Use Disorders Source Type: research

FDA, responding to critics, to look at restricting opioids for pain
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will reassess the way it approaches approvals for opioid medications. On February 5, Robert Califf, M.D., the deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco, announced that the agency would take a harder line against opioids. (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - February 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: From the FDA Source Type: research

Research Roundup
Maltreatment in childhood, brain changes, and psychopathology: Resilience the missing link Parental criticism may worsen ADHD trajectories Parents' debt linked to well‐being of children Local health departments important to mental health care (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - February 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Research Roundup Source Type: research

Executive dysfunction has common pathways in psychopathology in youth
Many children with psychiatric disorders also have deficits in executive function. However, it's not clear how specific executive dysfunction is to these disorders; there is also extensive comorbidity. So researchers used brain imaging during a task to find out what types of symptoms are associated with executive dysfunction. (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - February 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: News Source Type: research

Screen adolescents for MDD, says task force; no decision on younger children
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening for major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescents aged 12 to 18 years but does not recommend screening for younger children due to lack of evidence on the benefits and harms. The recommendation updated the USPSTF 2009 recommendation on screening for MDD in children and adolescents. (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - February 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: What's New in Research Source Type: research

Article warns against using antipsychotic medications for nonpsychotic children
Disruptive behavior and aggression are increasingly being treated with antipsychotic medications, prescribed off‐label to control behaviors, especially in vulnerable children, like those in foster care. While antipsychotics are approved to treat pediatric psychotic disorders, as well as aggressive behaviors in children with autism, their off‐label use, especially considering the largely unstudied developmental risks, raises questions. (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - February 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Disruptive Behavior Source Type: research

Infants and toddlers are too young for psychotropics; parent therapy better
A December 10, 2015, article in The New York Times headlined “Still in a Crib, Yet Being Given Antipsychotics” was sharply critical of infants being given psychiatric medications that have never been studied in such young ages. In the opening scenario, an 18‐month‐old had violent behavior resulting from an epilepsy medication and was given risperidone, despite the fact that it is not approved for children that young. (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - January 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Antipsychotics Source Type: research

FDA approves Narcan nasal spray, adds pediatric labeling
On November 18, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Narcan nasal spray. This is naloxone, used commonly in kits made up of vials of the medication along with a tube and syringe to get it into the nose. Unlike those kits, which are not approved by the FDA but are used off‐label, the Narcan spray comes in one package. Naloxone rescues people who have overdosed on opioids, reversing the effects. If administered within 2 minutes, it can save a life. (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - January 25, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: From the FDA Source Type: research

Research Roundup
Most children on Medicaid who get antipsychotics are not given psychosocial services first Decreases in cortical gray matter and depression linked in early childhood (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - January 25, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Research Roundup Source Type: research

Program targets young adults with home‐based skill building
Building on the success it is seeing in delivering home health care services to patients in its core mental health programs, the Evanston, Ill.–based Yellowbrick is about to begin offering home‐based services to a wider variety of struggling young adults in the community. (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - January 25, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: News Source Type: research

CDC issues draft voluntary guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued draft guidelines for the prescribing of opioids for pain on December 14 in the Federal Register. The guidelines are meant to reduce overprescribing of opioids, which the CDC says should not be used for chronic pain. They are meant for primary care providers (family physicians or internists) who are treating patients for chronic pain in an outpatient setting. They do not apply to methadone or buprenorphine prescribing for the treatment of opioid use disorders. They also do not apply to chronic pain related to palliative or end‐of‐life care, or to treatm...
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - January 25, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: News Source Type: research

College students more likely to seek mental health treatment than older adults
College‐aged adults (18–25) are more likely to visit a mental health professional compared to older adults (18% vs. 11%), and more likely to view seeing a mental health professional as a sign of strength compared to older adults (60% vs. 35%), according to an online survey conducted by Harris Poll. (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - January 25, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: What's New in Research Source Type: research

Preventing or averting bipolar disorder by looking at risk and resilience
Bipolar disorder remains one of the leading causes of disability worldwide across all age groups because of researchers' incomplete understanding of its biological basis. (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - January 25, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Bipolar Disorder Source Type: research

Risperidone found effective in treating early‐onset mania
Researchers on the Treatment of Early Age Mania (TEAM) study assessed the effectiveness of three study medications — lithium, risperidone, and divalproex — in children with bipolar I disorder to find out whether an add‐on or a switch of medications for an 8‐week trial would be effective for partial responders and nonresponders to one of the medications. (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - December 23, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Mania Source Type: research

FDA approves chewable methylphenidate
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on December 4 approved QuilliChew ER tablets, which Pfizer officials are calling the first and only long‐acting chewable methylphenidate treatment for attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in patients ages 6 years old and above. (Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update)
Source: The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update - December 22, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Tags: From the FDA Source Type: research