A commonly prescribed acne drug is linked to suicidality and sexual dysfunction–two adverse effects that can last long after the drug is stopped.

Read the full article at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6431453/Thousands-prescribed-Roaccutane-theres-disturbing-evidence-leave-men-suicidal.html

When eight-year-old Jake was wrongly prescribed drugs marketed as antidepressants, his parents say they noticed scary changes in his behavior and feared for his life. Children, who are at high risk for SSRI-induced akathisia, are covered by the FDA’s black box suicidality warning yet many parents are never informed.

“That was when things got infinitely worse,” Jake’s father, Ray Diaz, said. “Jake was trying to physically harm himself. Jake was trying to jump out of moving cars. We were at Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular, and we got out of there and he just took off and sprinted away from us in the middle of Manhattan.”

Read the full story at https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/rochester/exploring-your-health/2021/06/15/explosion-in-the-tick-population-draws-attention-to-rare-lyme-disease-symptoms-in-children

Polypharmacy “refers to an increasing overload of drugs that may not benefit the patient or interact well with one another, and that may cause harm including falls, cognitive impairment, hospitalization and death. It has sparked interest in “deprescribing”: the practice in which doctors and patients regularly review medication regimens to prune away risky or unnecessary drugs.

For older patients, the most commonly prescribed inappropriate medicines include proton pump inhibitors like Nexium and Prilosec, benzodiazepines like Xanax and Ativan, and tricyclic antidepressants, according to an analysis of Medicare data published last year.”

Benzodiazepines and drugs marketed as antidepressants increase the risk of suffering from akathisia. Read the full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/health/elderly-drugs-deprescribing.html?action=click&module=Science%20%20Technology&pgtype=Homepage

MISSD’s new akathisia billboards in Illinois and West Virginia are being met with positive feedback and our public health videos have now had more than 280K views.

“I saw your ad in Chicago today. I was driving here from Minnesota. I almost didn’t survive akathisia. Upon seeing the ad, I was so happy and started crying at the same time. Thank you for all your work. I definitely will be donating.”

See and share to save lives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibCOhnmM608