Every month seems to bring a new FDA advisory or an alarming research finding about the use of medications in pregnancy. In this article, we update you on what we consider to be the most important developments over the past couple of years.

Over the last several years, we’ve all seen many FDA warnings and cautionary letters from drug companies about the effects of psychotropics in pregnancy. As a result, it’s easy to become a little skittish about prescribing any medication for pregnant women.

Dr. Brizendine, as the director of the UCSF Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic, you receive many referrals of women who are having difficulty with menopause. What are the typical problems that women have during this period?

Provigil (modafinil) is FDA approved for excessive sleepiness due to various causes. An ADHD indication was rejected because of its possible association with a single case of Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

The combination of Effexor (venlafaxine) and Remeron (mirtazapine) has been dubbed “California Rocket Fuel” by Stephen Stahl (see page 290 of his Essential Psychopharmacology, 2nd Edition) because of the multiple ways the combination boosts various neurotransmitter systems.

A widely cited sequence of reactions following the death of a loved one includes: disbelief, yearning (for the loved one’s return), anger, depression/mourning, and acceptance. Researchers conducted a study
aimed at empirically assessing whether these stages actually occur and, if so, in what order.

On February 23, the FDA approved Shire and New River’s Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) for the treatment of ADHD in children. Vyvanse is the molecule dextroamphetamine (trade names Dexedrine and Dextrostat) attached to the amino acid lysine.

After reading these articles, you should be able to…

Janssen’s marketing team apparently missed the fact that the word in the English language that sounds most like “Invega” is “inveigle,” meaning “to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk or inducements” (www.dictionary.com). You may have already heard some “artful talk” from your Janssen reps, who are keen to have you convert your patients from Risperdal to Invega.

In this article, guest author Dr. Shalom Feinberg, takes a hard look at the most recent data on the effectiveness of SGAs for depression in its various guises, including treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and bipolar depression (BD).