The New York Times (11/22, Belluck) reports, “Concerns about safety risks of the controversial new Alzheimer’s drug [aducanumab] Aduhelm have intensified in the wake of the death of a 75-year-old woman who experienced brain swelling after receiving infusions of the drug as a participant in a clinical trial.” The incident “occurred in late September,” and “between July and September, three other cases of [amyloid-related imaging abnormalities] ARIA were reported to the FDA’s adverse event database, all requiring hospitalization.”

Bloomberg (11/22, Langreth) reports Biogen’s drug “produced brain swelling in 35% of patients who took the approved dose, although most didn’t experience symptoms, company researchers said in a study” published in JAMA Neurology. The study “found that 362 of 1,029 patients who received the approved dose of the drug experienced the side effect, which showed up in brain imaging of people in two big clinical trials of the drug.”

Related Links:

— “Concerns Grow Over Safety of Aduhelm After Death of Patient Who Got the Drug “Pam Belluck, The New York Times, November 22, 2021

HealthDay (11/22, Norton) reports, “Most prescriptions for the medication gabapentin are for unapproved uses – and many patients end up taking it along with” medications that “create potentially dangerous interactions,” investigators concluded in a “study that looked at ‘off-label’ use of gabapentin” among US adults. The study revealed that “of almost 130 million outpatient visits where gabapentin was prescribed, more than 99% were for off-label uses.” The findings were published online May 21 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Many Psychiatric Patients Are Getting Risky Drug Gabapentin ‘Off-Label’ “Amy Norton, HealthDay, November 22, 2021

Healio (11/22, Gramigna) reports, “In light of recent CDC data showing more than 100,000 U.S. deaths from overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021, the American Psychiatric Association [APA]” has “reviewed effective substance abuse treatments and called for efforts to intervene.” Healio interviewed Smita Das, MD, PhD, MPH, chair of APA’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry, who said, “These data continue to highlight the alarming trend of increasing overdose deaths in the U.S.” Dr. Das added, “With the pandemic, there has been a deadly mix of worsening mental health symptoms and increased substance use,” adding, “The dual diagnosis nature of this makes the news about overdose deaths especially pertinent to psychiatrists.”

Related Links:

— “APA calls for action to address high number of overdose deaths “Joe Gramigna, Healio, November 22, 2021

HealthDay (11/19, Norton) reported a study published in Obesity “is highlighting yet another consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic: It has likely made it even harder for kids with obesity to manage their weight.” Investigators “tracked 230 children from urban, low-income families who were enrolled in a clinical trial testing an obesity treatment program – either before or during the pandemic,” and found that over one year, kids in the program during the pandemic “typically saw an increase in their body mass index.”

Related Links:

— “Pandemic Curbed Kids’ Efforts to Lose Excess Weight “Amy Norton, HealthDay, November 19, 2021

The Washington Post (11/19, Searing) reported that “about a third of children ages 7 to 9 use social media apps on phones or tablets, according to a report” that was “based on data from a nationally representative pool of 1,030 parents with at least one child 7-to-12 years old.” The report also “notes an even higher social media presence among slightly older children, with half of those ages 10 to 12 using these apps.” Furthermore, investigators “found that most parents said they do some sort of monitoring of their children’s social media involvement,” yet “1 in 6 parents were found to be using no parental controls.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)