OBJECTIVE Guidance on pharmacotherapy of neurobehavioural sequelae post-acquired brain injury (ABI) is limited. Clinicians face the choice of prescribing off-label. This survey assesses prescribing practice and off-label use of psychotropic medications in Italian brain injury rehabilitation centres and factors associated with atypical antipsychotics use. MATERIALS AND METHODS Centres were ide...

Patients with somatoform disorders can be significantly impacted by the condition and there is often comorbid depression anxiety. In cases that are treatment resistant, disorder persisting despite intensive psychological input numerous psychotropic medications, use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been considered a possible option. Here, authors report case such patient who responded to E...

This study evaluated the consumption of psychotropic medications by caregivers of elderly patients with or without dementia. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at all geriatric units in Brasília, Brazil, during a two-month period. Structured interviews were performed with 311 caregivers of people with or without dementia and they completed questionnaires. Among the caregivers, 196 (63%)...

Over the past two decades there has been a large increase in the number of patients prescribed psychotropic medications. Many of these agents are associated with QTc prolongation which is considered a marker for increased risk of sudden cardiac death due to malignant arrhythmias such as Torsades de pointes (TdP). Psychotropics rarely lead to sudden death in healthy individuals on a single QTc p...

BACKGROUND Despite increasing knowledge about the limited effectiveness and severe adverse effects, the prescription rate of psychotropic medications in frail elderly persons remains high. Prescriptions are mainly made to control behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, although factors associated with prescriptions are rarely reported. However, such information is a prerequisite to d...

INTRODUCTION Pharmacogenetics attempts to identify inter-individual genetic differences that are predictive of variable drug response and propensity to side effects, with the prospect of assisting physicians to select the most appropriate drug and dosage for treatment. However, many concerns regarding genetic tests exist. We sought to test the opinions of undergraduate science and medical stude...

CONTEXT Studies have revealed that youth in foster care covered by Medicaid insurance receive psychotropic medication at a rate > 3 times that of Medicaid-insured youth who qualify by low family income. Systematic data on patterns of medication treatment, particularly concomitant drugs, for youth in foster care are limited. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this work was to describe and quantify patte...

BACKGROUND The inappropriate use of psychotropic medication is widespread and has potential consequences for the autonomy of elderly people. This study explored physicians' perceptions and attitudes and the decision-making process associated with prescribing psychotropic medications for elderly patients. METHODS In this qualitative study conducted between February and April 1996, 9 of 12 phys...

Objective(s) Psychotropic medications produce their effects, in part, through increasing neurotrophin levels in the brain. Since studies concerning nerve growth factor (NGF) analysis have been limited in scope, in the current experiments we investigated the effects of diverse psychotropic agents on NGF protein levels in various brain regions of rat. Materials and Methods Male Wistar rats rec...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the compliance to the prescribed drug treatment and referral of patients discharged from a psychiatric emergency service (PES). METHOD From a total of 330 patients enrolled in the study, 175 (53%) agreed to a telephone inquiry 60 days after the PES visit regarding the status of the prescribed medication use and the outpatient referral. RESULTS 227 patients (68.8%) recei...