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Study: Clozapine may have saved schizophrenics

By The Associated Press

LONDON – Thousands of people with schizophrenia worldwide could have been saved if doctors had prescribed them the anti-psychotic drug clozapine, a new study says.

Clozapine was introduced in the 1970s, but was banned for about a decade because of a rare but potentially deadly side effect: up to 2 percent of patients lose their white blood cells while taking the drug.

It was brought back to the market in the 1980s with warnings about its use, and is sold generically as Clozaril, Leponex, Denzapine, Fazaclo, among other names.

In most developed countries, guidelines recommend clozapine only as a last resort, if patients have already tried two other drugs but still aren't better.

In a study examining the death rates of about 67,000 schizophrenic patients in Finland versus those of the general population between 1996 and 2006, Jari Tiihonen, of the University of Kuopio in Finland, and colleagues found that patients on clozapine had the lowest risk of dying, compared to other patients with schizophrenia. The study was published online Monday in the medical journal, Lancet.

James MacCabe, a consultant psychiatrist at the National Psychosis Unit at South London and Maudsley Hospital, called the research "striking and shocking." He was not linked to the study.

"There is now a case to be made for revising the guidelines to make clozapine available to a much larger proportion of patients," he said.

Tiihonen and colleagues found that even though the use of anti-psychotic medications has jumped in the last decade, people with schizophrenia in Finland still die about two decades earlier than other people.

The researchers concluded that newer drugs including quetiapine, haloperidol and risperidone increased the death risk by 41 percent, 37 percent and 34 percent respectively, when compared to older drugs. In contrast, patients on clozapine had a 26 percent lower chance of dying. The study was paid for by Finland's Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Experts said the Finnish findings could be extrapolated to most other developed countries. MacCabe suggested doctors might give their schizophrenic patients clozapine after trying one other drug, as opposed to two.

MacCabe said clozapine is particularly effective in reducing suicidal tendencies in schizophrenic patients, in whom suicides account for about 40 percent of unexpected deaths.

"We should find ways to get more people on this medicine," said Lydia Chwastiak of the department of psychiatry at Yale University, who was not connected to the research. A study at the University of Maryland found that African-American patients in particular are treated less often with clozapine.

"If this drug can help people live longer, we need to look seriously at the barriers to using it," she said.

Tiihonen said the pharmaceutical industry is partly to blame for why clozapine has often been overlooked. "Clozapine's patent expired long ago, so there's no big money to be made from marketing it," he said.

Crazy questions

Monday Crazy Questions (a day early)

1. Do you have a tattoo...?? if so What and where is it?? if not do you have a secret desire to have one?
I don't have any tattoos. I am constantly thinking about getting at least one, but I'm scared of the pain.

2. You have been offered a free botox treatment...where do you have them put it?
I'd turn down the treatment, even if they paid me to get it

3. Do you have a good luck charm? what is it? Do you think it works?
Nope. I make my own luck.

4. When was the last time that you said something to someone that you REALLY wished you hadn't said?
Last night at work, I made a joke about showing up naked on my last day of work. They were talking about what they'd wear if they quit and it was their last day at the job. Showing up naked popped in my head and I said it out loud without thinking

5. The bath water is running, the phone is ringing, the dog is barking and there is someone at the door.....what do you do?
I'd probably just go get in the bath. I never answer the door when the door bell rings because it's normally the stupid church-goers coming by to solicit. If the call is important, the person will leave a voicemail. And the dogs are always barking.

6. Your best friend from high school just popped in from out of town. do you offer them a place to stay or suggest a hotel?
I wouldn't offer but wouldn't suggest a hotel either. I'd keep my mouth shut until she made comments about what she'd do.

7. Have you ever seen a ghost?
No

8. Someone is driving in front of you rather erratically and slowing you way down...now you see that they are talking on a cell phone and checking themselves out in the mirror. The other lane is blocked off so you can not go around them. What do you do??
I'm pretty patient in situations like that. I'd just stay behind the moron until I could pass. I may cuss, but I wouldn't go too crazy.

Double Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Double Stealing Meme

1. If you could turn back the hands of time to correct one wrongdoing, what event would you choose and why?
I'd go back to November 8, 2003, and decide not to go meet my now-exhusband. That would save me from a lot of pain and suffering.

2. Are you one for tradition? If so, what traditions do you strongly believe in? If not, what makes tradition hypocritical?
I'm pretty non-traditional when it comes to most things in life. My parents weren't traditional type people, so I grew up without traditions. I know there are a few traditional things I believe in, but none are coming to mind right now.

3. You were taking part in an event and you had to crossplay, who would you crossplay as and why?
Honestly, I think if I went to a crossplay event, I'd have to dress like some woman in all feminine clothes because I dress much more like a man every day. It would be much more shocking for me to show up to a party in a dress and makeup than as a man.

4. If you only had one day left to live, how would you spend your last day? Would you be tempted to live fatally if you knew you were to die the next day, and if so, what extreme measures would you take?
I'd spend the day with my mom, younger brother, and a few other people I really care about, plus the dogs. I don't think I'd do anything crazy. I'd rather treasure each moment with people I love than jump out of a plane.

5. What are your top five sinful materialistic items, ones you'd expect from others including those closest to you? Why are each in the position they are in?
I don't get what this question means.

6. I am... having pain in my left ear. Just took a shower, and there's water built up in it.

7. I feel... like I don't want to go to work. Have to be there in 30 minutes.

8. I see... a stupid movie on my TV. It's the only thing on. Sunday TV sucks.

9. I need... to shave my legs. It's been a long time.

10. I love... cinnamon rolls. I just ate a couple.

11. I wish... I could eat and eat and eat without gaining weight.

12. I think... I'm going to be bored out of my mind at work tonight.

13. I hear... the ceiling fan making noise. I hate 100+ degree weather. The air conditioner is never enough to cool the house.

14. I crave... cinnamon rolls. Man, I'm stuck on them right now.

15. I fear... being in love.

16. I hope… that my current depression won't last as long as I think it will.

my state of constant laziness...

I just found this comic, and it explains my state of constant laziness....

Teens' drinking linked to mental health problems

NOTE FROM JENNIFER: Frankly this story is kind of a no-brainer to me. I think anyone who drinks is more likely to be depressed or have anxiety problems, but I thought I'd share it anyways.


By Reuters Health

NEW YORK – Teenagers who drink heavily are also more likely than their peers to have behavioral problems or symptoms of depression and anxiety, a new study finds.

The study, of nearly 9,000 Norwegian teenagers, found that those who said they had been drunk more than 10 times in their lives were more likely to have attention and conduct problems in school. Meanwhile, heavy-drinking girls showed higher rates of depression and anxiety symptoms.

The findings, published in the online journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, are based on a one-time survey. They do not, therefore, show whether the drinking came before or after the teenagers' other problems.

"We can say that mental health problems (are) closely connected to alcohol drinking and intoxication, but we cannot from these data say anything about which comes first," explained lead researcher Dr. Arve Strandheim, of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.

That said, conduct and attention problems do tend to develop early in childhood, and would be less likely to arise in adolescence, Strandheim told Reuters Health.

But regardless of whether drinking problems or other issues come first, the bottom line is that parents should be aware that they often go hand-in-hand, according to the researcher.

The findings are based on a survey of 8,983 13- to 19-year-olds. Eighty percent said they had tried drinking, while 57 percent had gotten drunk at least once.

Among teens who said they had attention problems at school, roughly 43 percent had been drunk more than 10 times -- versus 25 percent of those with little difficulty concentrating in class.

Similarly, 35 percent of teenagers who acknowledged conduct problems -- getting into fights or clashing with teachers -- also admitted to getting drunk frequently. That compared with roughly 27 percent of teens with few conduct problems.

Anxiety and depression symptoms were also linked to more-frequent drinking binges, but only among girls.

It's important to intervene early to keep all teenagers from abusing alcohol, Strandheim stressed. However, the researcher said, it may be particularly important to pay attention to girls with signs of depression or anxiety, and all teens with attention problems or behavior issues.

SOURCE: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, online June 23, 2009.