VA spent $717 million on a drug deemed as effective as a placebo

[James48]

Source: Nextgov.com

VA spent $717 million on a drug deemed as effective as a placebo
By Bob Brewin 08/22/2011


Over the past decade, the Veterans Affairs Department spent $717 million for an anti-psychotic drug to treat post-traumatic stress disorder that a recent study shows is no more effective than a placebo.

Data provided by the department in response to a Nextgov query showed that VA doctors wrote more than 5 million prescriptions for risperidone from October 2000, the beginning of fiscal 2001, through June 2010. Risperidone is the generic name for Risperdal, a second-generation anti-psychotic drug originally developed by the Janssen Pharmaceuticals division of Johnson & Johnson to treat severe mental conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

But a paper by VA researchers published Aug. 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded, "treatment with risperidone compared with placebo did not reduce PTSD symptoms."



Read more: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20110822_6423.php?oref=topstory

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Disappointing that we spend so much on treatments that can't help soldiers.

The best treatment for PTSD, is prevention in the first place.

End war- bring our soliders home.