Haldol and your shrinking brain
Monday, June 7, 2010
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Drug for schizophrenia causes side effects by shrinking part of the brain.
by Amy Maxmen
A commonly-prescribed antipsychotic drug shrinks the brain within hours of administration.
A leading antipsychotic drug temporarily reduces the size of a brain region that controls movement and coordination, causing distressing side effects such as shaking, drooling and restless leg syndrome.
Just two hours after injection with haloperidol, an antipsychotic commonly prescribed to treat schizophrenia, healthy volunteers experienced impaired motor abilities that coincided with diminished grey-matter volume in the striatum1 — a brain region that mediates movement.
"We've seen changes in the brain before, but to see significant remodelling of the striatum within a couple of hours is staggering," says Clare Parish at the Howard Florey Institute for brain research in Melbourne, Australia, who was not involved in the study.
complete article continues here
My comments: Just think of the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's being prescribed Haldol, a fluoride-based anti-psychotic, and the reports associating brain shrinkage with the diagnosis.
Additionally, the severe side effect from Haldol is known as Tardive Dyskinesia, with symptoms noted in italics below. (One nautral treatment for TD is the use of organic and properly prepared valerian root extract.)
by Amy Maxmen
A commonly-prescribed antipsychotic drug shrinks the brain within hours of administration.
A leading antipsychotic drug temporarily reduces the size of a brain region that controls movement and coordination, causing distressing side effects such as shaking, drooling and restless leg syndrome.
Just two hours after injection with haloperidol, an antipsychotic commonly prescribed to treat schizophrenia, healthy volunteers experienced impaired motor abilities that coincided with diminished grey-matter volume in the striatum1 — a brain region that mediates movement.
"We've seen changes in the brain before, but to see significant remodelling of the striatum within a couple of hours is staggering," says Clare Parish at the Howard Florey Institute for brain research in Melbourne, Australia, who was not involved in the study.
complete article continues here
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