Drugmaker that got kickbacks for giving antipsychotics to nursing home patients deserves “a special place in hell”

There really should be a special place in hell for pharmaceutical manufacturers who make money by exploiting the weakest and most vulnerable of patients: old people with dementia…. Johnson & Johnson paid kickbacks to the nation’s largest nursing home pharmacy to increase the number of elderly patients taking the antipsychotic Risperdal and several other medications, according to a complaint filed Friday by the office of the United States attorney in Boston.

Daily Mail – “Internal bleeding. Strokes. Birth defects. The long term effects of antidepressants are terrifying”

Doctors still routinely reassure patients that the side-effects of antidepressants are largely mild and short term – these include drowsiness, dizziness and weight gain that become obvious in the first few weeks and can normally be reversed by trying another type of pill. Yet there is growing evidence that long-term use is linked to more serious health problems including bleeding in the gut, low sodium levels in the elderly (which can lead to falls) and increased risk of stroke. Recently it’s been claimed that some antidepressants may increase the risk of birth defects.