GLG News by Physicians who Treat Depression (US)

Huntington's Disease is a tragic hereditary affliction often first manifesting in 30 and 40 year olds, with an autosomal dominant inheritance. Biotechnology is finally catching up with the disease to the extent that there is fundamental research (and drug discovery) underway that can render these offending...

The FDA has approved Abilify for Acute treatment of Manic and Mixed Bipolar I Episodes in 10 to 17 year olds.  The benefit to Otsuka and Bristol Myers will be quite significant in the market for several reasons.  The benefit to kids is more problematic.

The FDA’s approval of Abilify for treatment of acute manic and mixed episodes of pediatric Bipolar Disorder is a very important milestone.   Treatment with Abilify already has had growing off-label use in the pediatric population, in both acute and chronic settings, because of its favorable...

A entirely new concept in curing incurable diseases, such as Huntington's Disease and MS is beginning to show Proof of Concept.  The next several years will witness an exponential rise in research in this arena, as biotechs such as Alnylam (ALNY) and ISIS (ISIS) demonstrate the feasibility of this...

It is only a matter of time, measured in months now, for the Apple Iphone to start treading on Blackberry's Turf.  There are many compelling reasons why this will be inevitable

OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder) are two of the more common...much more common than formerly thought...diagnoses and also two of the most difficult to treat.  JAZZ Pharmaceutical's new fluvoxamine formulation (Luvox CR) will invigorate patient self-identification...

It is unfortunate that Zyprexa LAI, met with a Non-Approvable Letter, based on a case of delayed sedation reported by Lilly.  However, I would not count this medication out and it would be unfortunate if this were the case.  Several factors argue in favor of eventual approval. 

Over the last few years there have been various "studies" attempting to prove the thesis that antidepessant medications (SSRI's are usually the focus) are little better than placebos.  This latest salvo will be a very minor blip, not a speed bump.

Excitement is brewing among the cognoscenti around a new paradigm to treat mental illness, schizophrenia in particular.  The buzzword is glutamate...and early studies show promise...but will the huge investment of resources prove ultimately profitable.

Congress is considering legislation to place mental illness on the same footing as other medical disorders.  The parity bills being considered by the House and Senate differ widely in scope.  The resulting legislation will likely affect the insurance coverage of millions of people for many...