Antipsychotics

Esketamine outperforms quetiapine for treatment-resistant depression, study finds

Patients with treatment-resistant depression, who received esketamine nasal spray plus an antidepressant, were more likely to achieve remission at eight weeks than those who received quetiapine and an antidepressant, according to trial results.…

Pharmacist prescribers can reduce sedative use in care homes, study demonstrates

Researchers found that pharmacist independent prescribers were able to improve outcomes for care home residents through "effective deprescribing" of anticholinergic and sedative drugs.…

Anticholinergic drugs and dementia: a causal link?

The implications of changes to the regulation of oxybutynin in the UK and the case for deprescribing anticholinergics, such as this, to prevent cognitive adverse effects.…

Data show ‘spiralling’ antipsychotic price increases of up to 1,200% in past five years

Exclusive: Analysis of NHS data show that the price of risperidone has increased the most out of all antipsychotics, from £3.09 in July 2017 to £41.16 in June 2022 — an increase of 1,232%.…

The rising price of antipsychotics and what it means

Data analysis has revealed that the drug tariff for some mental health medicines has increased by more than 1,200% as demand has risen.…

Schizophrenia drug shortage affecting patient care, College of Mental Health Pharmacy warns

Supplies of aripiprazole 10mg tablets are low until late August 2022 and there is "limited scope for alternatives".…

Antipsychotic use in people with dementia living in care homes rose during COVID-19 pandemic

Data show the rate of antipsychotic prescribing rose from 18% of people with dementia in care homes before the pandemic to 28% of people during the pandemic.…

Antipsychotics increasingly prescribed for personality disorders, against NICE guidance

Study results have shown that antipsychotics have been prescribed for personality disorders more often and for longer periods of time between 2000 and 2016.…

Case study: treatment-resistant schizophrenia

An examination of how a patient with schizophrenia, who is transferred from a mental health hospital to the community, is treated with clozapine effectively.…

Prescribing of zuclopenthixol is on the rise and can now be tracked

The views expressed in this letter are those of the author’s. If you would like to submit a letter to The Pharmaceutical Journal, please click here. We thank colleagues from Surrey for their case report — 'Risk of medication errors with zuclopenthixol' (The Pharmaceutical Journal online, 1…