Hidden data show that antipsychotic drugs are less effective than advertised

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-checkup/post/hidden-data-show-that-antipsychotic-drugs-are-less-effective-than-advertised/2012/03/20/gIQAXX4IQS_blog.html

So-called atypical antipsychotic drugs have been blockbusters for the drug industry, pulling in $16 billion in 2010. Developed to treat schizophrenia and related disorders, physicians also prescribe these drugs “off label” for bipolar disorder, insomnia, and other problems the drugs are not approved to treat, as Sandra Boodman wrote in the Post on March 12.

But a new report finds that psychiatrists have not been given a full picture of these drugs, which include big sellers like Abilify (aripiprazole), Zyprexa (olanzapine), Risperdal (risperidone), and Seroquel (quetiapine).

When seeking approval for eight atypical antipsychotic drugs, drug companies performed 24 studies, according to a Food and Drug Administration database. But four of the studies were never published in professional journals — and all four were unflattering for the drug in question.