March-April 2011 Update

I n this column, I would like to make the readership aware of two important updates. In December of 2010, the Genentech group provided a healthcare advisory regarding its product Klonopin (clonazepam). The alert was a notification about the increased risk of developing suicidal ideations or behaviors in association with this medication. The company explained that this risk is associated with the administration of antiepileptic agents and patients taking this agent for any medical or psychiatric indication should be monitored for worsening of depressive symptoms or mood.

The next update has to do with the belief that many patients have the false notion that dietary supplements are not dangerous nor hazardous to their health. In particular, the weight loss preparations are of some concern to the population we treat. On December 15, 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a letter to the manufacturers of dietary supplements expressing their concerns about undeclared or less then clearly labeled ingredients in some of their products. In specific they are concerned with certain weight loss agents containing active ingredients like sibutramine, and a product which contained it that was recently withdrawn from the market due to increased risk of heart attack and stroke. The FDA have discovered that many other products (i.e., Slimming Beauty, Solo Slim, and Slim-30) also contain sibutramine or analogous agents. So patients should be made aware of this risk and should review the contents of the supplements they ingest.

An updated list of conferences follows for your consideration.

The 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, from May 14–18, 2011, contact (888)357-7924.

The 2011 Annual Meeting of the NCDEU will be held in Boca Raton, Florida in mid June 2011, contact (703)925–9455.

The 58^th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 18–23, 2001, contact (202)966–7300.