May 12, 2015 – Titrating Meds

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Anchor lead: A gradual approach to using antidepressants in kids may help, Elizabeth Tracey reports

SSRI medications do help manage depression, but they take some time to work, and for kids, may initially aggravate rather than help mood instability.  Now a discovery by Adam Kaplin, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins, and colleagues, sheds light on why.  Kaplin says taking a gradual approach to increasing the dosage of the medication could help.

Kaplin: Psychiatrists with adults had been doing this for decades not appreciating that in kids, rather than anxiety what we see is this increased impulsivity and suicidality. Now, the other critical thing is that’s great if you’ve got time to wait to increase the medicine.   :20

Kaplin says targeting the receptor, known as 5-HT1A, may also be effective.

Kaplin: We are suspicious that somewhere in the vaults of these pharmaceutical companies are some 5-HT1A antagonists.  :08

Kaplin says in animal models targeting the receptor along with SSRI use is very workable.  At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.