Considerations for Treating the Elderly with Psychotropic Medications

1985 ◽  
pp. 317-325
Author(s):  
William E. Farm ◽  
Bruce W. Richman
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Psychotropic Medications

scholarly journals Prescribing of psychotropic medications to the elderly population of a Canadian province: a retrospective study using administrative databases

PeerJ ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. e168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Alessi-Severini ◽  
Matthew Dahl ◽  
Jennifer Schultz ◽  
Colleen Metge ◽  
Colette Raymond
Keyword(s):  
Retrospective Study ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Psychotropic Medications ◽  
Administrative Databases ◽  
Canadian Province

scholarly journals Interprovincial Variation of Psychotropic Prescriptions Dispensed to Older Canadian Adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cody D. Black ◽  
Lisa McCarthy ◽  
Tara Gomes ◽  
Muhammad Mamdani ◽  
David Juurlink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Psychotropic Medications ◽  
Prescribing Patterns ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Future Work

BackgroundUtilization of psychotropic medications among the elderly has garnered attention due to concerns about safety and degree of efficacy, but may be used differently across regions.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of all antipsychotic, benzodiazepine, and trazodone prescriptions dispensed to seniors ( ≥ 65 years) leveraging IQVIA (Durham, NC) GPM data in 2013. We report the units dispensed (per 100 seniors) by province.ResultsNationally, on average, 26,210 units of antipsychotics, 24,257 of benzodiazepines, and 7,519 of trazodone were dispensed in 2013 for every 100 seniors; reports varied across Canada.The rate of antipsychotic and benzodiazepine prescribing was highest in New Brunswick (AP: 35,375 units per 100, BZD: 43,989 units per 100), and lowest in Newfoundland & Labrador for antipsychotics (20,974 per 100) and Saskatchewan for benzodiazepines (12,692 per 100). Trazodone unit dispensation rates were highest in Nova Scotia (9,164 per 100) and lowest in Newfoundland & Labrador (2,968 per 100).ConclusionsThere is considerable geographic variation in the prescribing patterns of antipsychotics, benzodiazepine, and trazodone. This study serves as the first step in understanding these differences, while future work is needed to develop region specific strategies to optimize the prescribing of psychotropic medications to older Canadian adults.

scholarly journals The overprescription of antidepressants and its impact on the elderly in Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muath Alduhishy
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Psychotropic Medication ◽  
Psychotropic Drugs ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Psychotropic Medications ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Vulnerable Group ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rigorous Research ◽  
Antidepressant Use

Abstract Introduction Psychopharmaceutical medications are noted for being one of the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide, which makes the issue of overprescribing them such a heated topic in medicine and psychiatry today. Method A literature review was made to investigate the topic of psychotropic medication prescriptions. The scope intended here is specific to antidepressant use, or rather overuse, in Australia, but it can be compared to the use of other psychotropic drugs in most western countries. The focus is directed towards the most vulnerable group of patients: the elderly. Results The past few decades have witnessed a surge in the use of psychotropic drugs, most notably antidepressants, in Australia and worldwide. This has numerous reasons as well as consequences, especially on vulnerable members of society. Conclusion It has been suggested that overprescription of antidepressants is fueled by the increase in the incidence of depression, stress and anxiety, or due to the way psychotropic medications are marketed. However, regardless of the validity of the said reasons, another explanation could be suggested: psychiatric disorders, namely depression, are being overdiagnosed on a considerable scale, probably leading to a list of significant adverse consequences that mostly affect the most vulnerable groups of patients. At the end, further rigorous research should certainly be undertaken to examine the extent and cost of overprescription of psychotropic drugs in society.

Fool’s Gold: Psychologists Using Disingenuous Reasoning to Mislead Legislatures into Granting Psychologists Prescriptive Authority

2003 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-524
Author(s):  
Brent Pollitt
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Nurse Practitioners ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
American Psychological Association ◽  
The United States ◽  
Psychotropic Medications ◽  
American Psychological ◽  
Training Requirements ◽  
Prescriptive Authority

Mental illness is a serious problem in the United States. Based on “current epidemiological estimates, at least one in five people has a diagnosable mental disorder during the course of a year.” Fortunately, many of these disorders respond positively to psychotropic medications. While psychiatrists write some of the prescriptions for psychotropic medications, primary care physicians write more of them. State legislatures, seeking to expand patient access to pharmacological treatment, granted physician assistants and nurse practitioners prescriptive authority for psychotropic medications. Over the past decade other groups have gained some form of prescriptive authority. Currently, psychologists comprise the primary group seeking prescriptive authority for psychotropic medications.The American Society for the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy (“ASAP”), a division of the American Psychological Association (“APA”), spearheads the drive for psychologists to gain prescriptive authority. The American Psychological Association offers five main reasons why legislatures should grant psychologists this privilege: 1) psychologists’ education and clinical training better qualify them to diagnose and treat mental illness in comparison with primary care physicians; 2) the Department of Defense Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project (“PDP”) demonstrated non-physician psychologists can prescribe psychotropic medications safely; 3) the recommended post-doctoral training requirements adequately prepare psychologists to prescribe safely psychotropic medications; 4) this privilege will increase availability of mental healthcare services, especially in rural areas; and 5) this privilege will result in an overall reduction in medical expenses, because patients will visit only one healthcare provider instead of two–one for psychotherapy and one for medication.

Cell surface changes during aging of human bladder epithelium examined by lectin probes and SEM

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 966-967
Author(s):  
J. Jacob ◽  
M.F.M. Ismail
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Ultrastructural Changes ◽  
Pokeweed Mitogen ◽  
Asymmetric Structure ◽  
Luminal Surface ◽  
Bladder Epithelium ◽  
Aldehyde Groups ◽  
Cell Surface Changes ◽  
Phosphate Buffered Saline ◽  
Surface Changes

Ultrastructural changes have been shown to occur in the urinary bladder epithelium (urothelium) during the life span of humans. With increasing age, the luminal surface becomes more flexible and develops simple microvilli-like processes. Furthermore, the specialised asymmetric structure of the luminal plasma membrane is relatively more prominent in the young than in the elderly. The nature of the changes at the luminal surface is now explored by lectin-mediated adsorption visualised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).Samples of young adult (21-31 y old) and elderly (58-82 y old) urothelia were fixed in buffered 2% glutaraldehyde for 10 m and washed with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) containing Ca++ and Mg++ at room temperature. They were incubated overnight at 4°C in 0.1 M ammonium chloride in PBS to block any remaining aldehyde groups. The samples were then allowed to stand in PBS at 37°C for 2 h before incubation at 37°C for 30 m with lectins. The lectins used were concanavalin A (Con A), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM) at a concentration of 500 mg/ml in PBS at pH 7.A.

The effect of dental geriatric curricula on attitudes toward the elderly

1988 ◽  
Vol 52 (9) ◽  
pp. 516-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Mann ◽  
TJ Bomberg ◽  
JM Holtzman ◽  
DB Berkey
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly
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