Harrison Healthcare’s Post

This mental health awareness month, learn more about how pharmacogenetic (PGx) insights can optimize psychiatric patients’ medications. A recently published study found that 65% of the 15,000 psychiatric patients analyzed had potentially actionable pharmacogenetic variations. These variations can significantly impact how a patient responds to medications. Pharmacogenetic testing helps providers understand a patient’s unique genetic makeup, how genetic variations may influence medication metabolism, and enables them to tailor treatment accordingly. Leveraging PGx insights, providers can achieve personalized, optimized patient care from the start. Read the full study here: https://lnkd.in/gpEeyqtk #pgx #pharmacogenetics #mentalhealth #personalizedmedicine #precisionmedicine

💊 Clinical Studies & Side Effects     In the ongoing search for new and advanced medicinal solutions, it is important to understand what clinically relevant desirable effects and undesirable effects are. A phrase that is often used to discern the quality of a compound is when it is assessed for side effects. Measuring side effects is a major task that takes considerable effort. It is not a homogenous cause-effect exercise because treatment symptoms are varied in uniqueness, duration, impact, sensitivity, & severity. Specific to psychedelics, what one experiences as adverse effect could be another person’s definition of a positive effect. So, the line between therapeutic effect and side effect could be gray and perhaps indistinguishable. BetterLife's initiative is to develop the most accessible and affordable take home medicine that is most patient-friendly and side effect free. Further insights could be learned from the article below. #mentalhealth #sideeffects #medicine #brainhealth #clinicalstudies   Mental Health Clinical Leader Clinical Trials Series Mental Health Foundation American Psychiatric Association American Academy of Neurology American Psychological Association

Patients with painful gastrointestinal disorders often experience years of severe symptoms and emotional distress while trying various treatments, including narcotics, which often worsen their condition. Our research has shown repeatedly that a key to successful care is a strong physician-patient relationship combined with a biopsychosocial treatment approach that targets the gut-brain axis. Psychotherapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and hypnosis, shows long-lasting benefits, with up to 70% effectiveness. Antidepressants, particularly tricyclics, SSRIs, and SNRIs, are also commonly used, not as psychiatric treatments, but to modulate gut pain pathways. While narcotics are sometimes prescribed out of necessity, they are not a long-term solution and can contribute to narcotic bowel syndrome. Our focus remains on holistic, patient-centered care, integrating newer methods to offer hope to those with complex conditions. #Gastroenterology #PatientCare #CBT #PatientExperience #Healthcare

In this recent op-ed published in the Miami Herald, Terran CEO and Founder Sam Clark, MD PhD, outlines the need for a greater focus on making novel psychedelic therapies accessible to the patients who need them. The FDA's recent granting of breakthrough therapy designation to several psychedelic-based therapies has laid the groundwork for a new era in mental health treatment. However, because the hallucinogenic effects of these drugs necessitate physician-supervised administration and monitoring, the cost of treatment is likely to limit coverage and, in turn, patient access. As one of many companies contributing to Miami’s growing psychedelic drug development landscape, Terran has worked to circumvent these limitations through the development of novel, non-hallucinogenic therapeutic compounds. To learn more about Terran’s approach to making accessible and affordable psychedelic-based mental health therapeutics a reality, read Dr. Clark’s article here: https://lnkd.in/gquc6Dxe #MentalHealth #Psychedelics #Accessibility #DrugDevelopment

Today, Mindbloom helped publish the largest peer-reviewed study of ketamine therapy (or any psychedelic medicine), with data from 11,441 clients. How big was it? Nearly 10x larger than the previous record-holder – which was Mindbloom’s last clinical study! The results were remarkable: 📊 Effectiveness: 62% of clients reported clinically-significant improvements in depression or anxiety, with 28% achieving remission, after only four sessions ❤️🩹 Safety: Fewer than 5% of clients reported side effects (SSRI side effect rates are 30-50%) ➡️ Benefits of Continued Treatment: 84% of clients who experienced significant improvements in an initial treatment program maintained improvements or recovered in a second round Since our launch in 2019, people have questioned whether ketamine therapy could be delivered safely and effectively at home through telehealth – this study answers that question with an emphatic “hell yes.” I'm deeply grateful to authors David Mathai, MD (Johns Hopkins) Thomas Derrick Hull, Matteo Malgaroli (New York University), Leonardo Vando, and to the Mindbloom team who helped make it happen Michael Petegorsky, Jack Swain, and Anna Gotskind. 

A recent publication in Frontiers of Psychiatry presented an updated review and umbrella meta-analysis on the implementation of pharmacogenomic testing to guide #depression treatment. The review identified 890 studies, with 28 meeting all inclusion criteria, which included six meta-analyses and four systematic reviews. The total analysis involved 17,000 adult patients with depression. This study demonstrates that, despite existing variability, pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing significantly improves depression symptom response and remission rates compared to standard treatment. By incorporating PGx testing as a piece of client assessment, providers can more effectively guide medication choices. Check out the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eeMhyTiU #PrecisionMedicine #MentalHealthMatters #PredictiveAnalytics 

I am so glad that these researchers focused on this issue of risks that come from polypharmacy for the older adults who have some cognitive impairment (CI). They found that large proportion of these adults use high-risk medications, with nearly half being exposed to drugs like anticholinergics, opioids, and anticoagulants. They are more likely to manage medications independently without adequate support, increasing their vulnerability to adverse drug events. Interventions to optimize medication management for older adults with CI living alone are critical. At Abode Care Partners, polypharmacy management is one of the key focus areas for our teams. We expect from our teams to make appropriate deprescribing and medication optimization a key goal of every patient interaction. Soon, technology will play a big role in helping with this aspect. #polypharmacy #safemedicine Abode Care Partners Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (PALTmed) BrightSpring Health Services

Please sign and donate! Interesting dynamic with research, private funding, and a unique diet that proposes that it might be a magic bullet… I am a bit puzzled by all the fuss! Eli Lilly and Company patented olanzapine, also known as Zyprexa, in 1991. The FDA approved Zyprexa in Sept. 1996 for the treatment of manifestations of psychotic disorders. In 1997 I started my family medicine-psychiatry residency at UC Health affiliated with the University of Cincinnati Cincinnati is a 2 hour car ride from Eli Lilly in Indianapolis so as residents we received a lot of training on clinical trials and specifically in broadening the Zyprexa FDA labeling to bipolar mania and depresion and ultimately treatment resistant depression (TRD). We watched in horror as our patients blew up in terms of weight gain and developed diabetes and other metabolic problems when we were on the wards! In 2007 we published Managing Metabolic Abnormalities in the Psychiatrically Ill A Clinical Guide for Psychiatrists Because we noticed this triad of obesity, mental illness, and psychiatric drugs💊 Now we are shutting down a trial that might be part of the solution?😦🙋 I don't get it? Eli Lilly now sells three GLP agonists! Maybe I'll write a second edition of the book🤓 #empathyminded #obesity #metabolicpsychiatry #innovation #ketodiet

The National Academy of Science invited me to give a presentation in Washington DC. on 10 September. I will be talking on the effects of novel GLP-1/GIP dual agonists in Alzheimer and Parkinson's disease. Join @NASEM Health and Medicine Division’s #NeuroForum workshop on 9/10 exploring potential applications of GLP-1R medications in the treatment of central nervous system disorders. Speakers will explore current knowledge and research gaps, evidence of their clinical efficacy, and regulatory challenges in repurposing these drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, substance use disorders, and pain. Learn more and register here: https://ow.ly/R7na50SOZjk #TranslationalMedicine #DrugDevelopment #CNSdisorders #GLP1R

For over a decade commercial companies have offered pharmacogenetic testing to psychiatric providers with the promise that the results will assist medication choice or dosing. While the concept of personalized medicine has great appeal and represents the forefront of research in many areas, the applicability and value in psychiatric practice remains a subject of intense debate. As will be discussed below, the problems with testing lie not only in what is reported, but also the difficulties encountered by clinicians when interpreting the significance of assay findings and implementing them to benefit patient care. https://lnkd.in/gGgHdP5m