Press Release, November 2, 2010

Suzanne Jacki Zipes, LCSW and owner of Associates for Life Enhancement will be speaking with Atlantic County Sheriff Frank Balles on workplace violence and stress. The program is being hosted by Cape Atlantic H.I.R.G at the Business Excellence Centers in Egg Harbor Township, NJ.

Many drug abusers have repeated exposure to treatment, yet little is known about the reasons some individuals re-enter treatment following relapse to drug use. We are studying the predictors of treatment re-entry among cocaine abusers who relapsed to cocaine use within 5 years following their index treatment episode. In-depth assessments were conducted at treatment intake in 1991-93 and at 1 and 5 years following treatment discharge. About 44% of the sample returned to treatment, at an average of 2.6 years following discharge. A logistic regression analysis demonstrated that individuals, who were previously married, used cocaine at least weekly after treatment discharge, and had more service needs at the time of index treatment were more likely to re-enter treatment. The findings suggest that a longer-term perspective on treatment utilization is needed to more fully address chronic substance abuse and the problems typically associated with it.

Some newer antipsychotic medications approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are being prescribed to millions of Americans for depression, dementia, and other psychiatric disorders without strong evidence that such off-label uses are effective, according to a new analysis by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The federally funded comparative effectiveness review of these drugs—called atypical antipsychotics—identified the medications’ potential for serious side effects while pointing to an “urgent need” for more research into new treatments for the growing population of dementia patients who display severe agitation.

Atypical antipsychotics are second-generation medicines designed to cause fewer neurological complications than conventional antipsychotics. They include aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, and ziprasidone. Each is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and risperidone is also approved to treat irritability in children ages 5 to 16 who have autism.

Some studies suggest that atypical antipsychotics may help patients with mental health conditions for which there are no FDA-approved alternatives. Risperidone and quetiapine, for example, help certain patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder when used in conjunction with antidepressants. Risperidone and olanzapine improve sleep problems, depression, and other symptoms in men with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when used to augment therapy with antidepressants or other psychotropic medications.

Overall, however, researchers found that much of the scientific evidence for off-label use of antipsychotics was of insufficient quality because studies were too small or lacked scientific rigor. Review authors evaluating the potential benefits and risks of the medications also found strong evidence that atypical antipsychotics can increase chances of adverse events. Some of the drugs increase risks of stroke, tremors, significant weight gain, sedation, and gastrointestinal problems. The new review was produced by AHRQ’s Effective Health Care program. It was authored by AHRQ’s Southern California/RAND Evidence-based Practice Center. The center examined 84 published studies on atypical antipsychotics and summarized evidence about several conditions:

• Dementia: One analysis showed a small benefit for risperidone and aripiprazole in the treatment of agitation and psychosis. Another suggested olanzapine may help treat psychosis. But a large clinical trial that explored whether risperidone, olanzapine, and quetiapine controlled behavioral disturbances in Alzheimer’s patients concluded that the risks of adverse events offset the potential benefits. Overall, analyses identified potential harms as a small increase in the risk of death and increased chances of stroke, neurological problems (such as tremors or muscle contractions), and weight gain.
• Depression: For patients who do not benefit from selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the supplemental use of atypical antipsychotics was not helpful, according to research. No studies showed the drugs provided a clear benefit for patients with major depressive disorder with psychotic features. Evidence is conflicting for bipolar depression.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Atypical antipsychotics significantly helped patients who do not respond adequately to SSRI therapy, studies showed. Overall, patients taking the drugs were about 2.7 times as likely to improve as patients taking a placebo. The chances of benefiting were best for risperidone and quetiapine.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Studies of men with combat-related PTSD showed risperidone and olanzapine, when used with antidepressants or other psychotropic medications, improved sleep quality, anxiety, and other symptoms. Studies were inconclusive when measuring benefits for women.
• Personality Disorders: For patients with borderline personality disorder, one study suggested olanzapine was more effective than placebo but showed little benefit when used to augment talk therapy. All studies of olanzapine were very small, however, and patients experienced significant weight gain. Two other small trials suggested risperidone may benefit patients with schizotypal personality disorder, and aripiprazole may help patients with borderline personality disorder.
• Tourette’s Syndrome: Risperidone is more effective than placebo, according to a small body of research. The benefits of ziprasidone are uncertain.

The report, Efficacy and Comparative Effectiveness of Off-Label Use of Atypical Antipsychotics, from AHRQ’s Effective Health Care program, can be found at http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov.

Call (609) 569-1144 for Speaking Engagements

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