All-cause mortality was 2.3-fold elevated among women and 2.0-fold higher among men with the psychiatric condition compared with the rest of Sweden after adjusting for other factors, they wrote.
Bipolar disorder
Olanzapine – Think Bipolar and Schizophrenia
Medical News: FDA Okays Generic Version of Zyprexa – in Psychiatry, Schizophrenia from MedPage Today
The FDA has approved a generic version of atypical antipsychotic drug olanzapine (Zyprexa) to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
According to the AP story:
Drugs like Zyprexa can cost up to $500 per month. Generic versions can cut the cost by up to 80 percent.
This is great news.
Ziprasidone (Geodon) – Think Bipolar
Ziprasidone comes with a long list of precautions and contraindications:
* It should not be used in patients with a known history of QT prolongation, recent acute myocardial infarction, or uncompensated heart failure, and should not be used with other QT-prolonging drugs.
* It should also be avoided in elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis, as studies have shown that ziprasidone increases the risk of death in such patients.
* Discontinuation should be considered in patients showing signs of tardive dyskinesia.
* Treatment should be stopped immediately in patients with symptoms of neuroleptic malignant syndrome, which include hyperpyrexia, muscle rigidity, diaphoresis, tachycardia, irregular pulse or blood pressure, cardiac dysrhythmia, and altered mental status.
* Patients and clinicians should be alert for hyperglycemia, rash, seizures, and orthostatic hypotension with ziprasidone.
Saphris – Think Schizophrenia or Bipolar
I suppose Saphris sounds better than asenapine.
FDA approval was based on data from more than 3,000 patients showing statistically significant efficacy versus placebo in acute schizophrenia trials and statistically significant reduction of bipolar mania symptoms versus placebo.
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