Comments on: Psychotropics and Youth, Part 2 – The Solutions

By: Richard Kensinger, MSW

Richard Kensinger, MSW — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:44:50 +0000

Psychotropics are clerly overprescribed for persons under the age of 10, even 5. Foster kids w/ “behavioral dyscontrol”, are 5 X more likely to be placed on “drug cocktails”, often 5 at a time!

I have very serious concerns about the schedule 2 controlled agents: the psychostimulants. The US prescribes 85% of the world market!

Likewise, the neuroleptics are very often inappropriately used in young kids. For example, for “irritability” in those w/ autism. They are only clinically indicated for those who are psychotic. In the clinical literature on autism, I see no concordance between autism & psychosis!

The neuroleptics at high doses & for long durations, show a range of serious side-effects, & adverse events, such as TD & NMS. Some of these conditions are irreversable & lethal.

Rich

By: Psychotropics and Youth, Part 3 – Equip Teachers with Prescription Pads? | Brain Blogger

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:23:25 +0000

[...] teachers involved in the study’s answer to this dilemma? They want more training in the area of child psychopharmacology and more collaboration with parents and physicians who prescribe the medication, which at present [...]

By: FakePlasticTree » ???????? part.2???????

FakePlasticTree » ???????? part.2??????? — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:04:14 +0000

[...] 2010 ? 3 ? 10 ? ???? ???????? ???? Psychotropics and Youth, Part 2 – The Solutions | Brain Blogger “Prescribed psychotropic medications are now high on the research agenda,” assert [...]

By: Courtney Sherman

Courtney Sherman — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:27:40 +0000

Thank you for your comments, Shaheen. Your article was quite interesting and your point astute. We should be well past the point where people recognize that children are not little adults, and be on a path to matching treatment to the specific ages and characteristics of the children involved. One-size-fits-all should never be a recipe for medical treatment of our children.

By: Shaheen E Lakhan, MS, MEd, PhD, MD

Shaheen E Lakhan, MS, MEd, PhD, MD — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:54:59 +0000

Dear Bill,I wrote on this issue for The Lancet Student last year:

It is true that research done on children is ethically questionable but the medical community and critics should be aware that innovative non-invasive measures are being used worldwide to help make medications safer for children. The great myths in pediatrics -- children are little adults and children can be prescribed a lower dose of the same drug -- have been widely dispelled [Ref]. But, we must now measure pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and response effects across different age ranges and establish the true differences of drug effects on adult and pediatric populations. Perhaps virtual models can place us one step closer to this goal.

You can read the full article here. I would like to know the public's opinion on traditional clinical trials or using virtual models for testing medications on pediatric patients. Thank you.Sincerely, Shaheen

By: David Stein

David Stein — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:40:23 +0000

I agree Bill. They’d like to test children if society allowed it, but it’s not “in vogue” in the public sphere right now. You make a good point.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:13:15 +0000

Interesting piece. The third point really struck me. So the medical establishment believes its unethical to test these drugs on children — yet it’s all right to prescribe them willy-nilly without testing? Hello, people! — don’t we see a problem here?

By: Psychotropics and Youth, Part 1 – The Five Myths | Brain Blogger

Psychotropics and Youth, Part 1 – The Five Myths | Brain Blogger — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:44:45 +0000

[...] this grave problem. However, debate is continuing to grow about the over-reliance of psychotropics. In my next post, I will identify three areas of research that can provide answers to this alarming [...]