“You Could Be Paying More for Less Effective Medicine”
A new study by Lisa Cosgrove, "Under the Influence: The Interplay among Industry, Publishing, and Drug Regulation," suggests that weak drug regulation can lead...
“Psychiatric Drug—Not Antibiotic—Messes with Gut Microbes, Spurs Obesity”
In a series of experiments in mice, researchers found that the drug risperidone alters gut microbes, which in turn profoundly influence metabolism, weight, and overall health.
Veterans’ Mental “Wounds” Treated Differently in Courts
-An Australian legal researcher discusses the different ways in which courts have handled cases involving war veterans.
Ben Goldacre in the NY Times
Ben Goldacre writes that big pharma's history of publishing favorable data - like flipping a coin and hiding the result when it comes up...
Clinical Intuition, Clinical Trials, and the Library at Alexandria
1 Boring Old Man revisits the question of reliance on clinical intuition vs. research, and watching the research upon which his young career was...
“FDA Issues New Draft Guidelines For ‘Appearance’ of Conflicts of Interest”
For STAT news, Pharmalot correspondent Ed Silverman reports on a new guideline being drafted by the FDA that adds new rules that could restrict...
One in Five Australian Families Tranquilize their Kids for Long Journeys
-Nearly one in five families in New South Wales, Australia admitted that they give tranquilizing drugs to their children during long road trips.
“Bad Science and Such Big Portions–Drug-Company Funded CMEs Fall Out of Favor”
For the USC Center for Health Journalism, Martha Rosenberg points out the absurdity of allowing industry funded doctors to teach classes to practitioners about psychiatric drugs. "What if the written road test drivers take were sponsored by BP or Shell and had marketing messages interspersed?"
“Dulling Pain May Also Reduce Empathy”
Seeing others in pain may engage some of the same neural pathways as experiencing pain yourself, according to a new study covered by ScienceNow.
“Toward a Social Justice Therapy: Let’s Keep Talking”
Can psychotherapy help dismantle oppression? “Social justice focused, analytic therapy- the kind of therapy I strive to do- is one that can support the...
“Brain Region Found That Does Absolutely Nothing” (Humor)
"Some neuroscientists are disappointed by the regions’ lack of response ... 'We tried everything we knew, with over 20 different participants. IQ tests, memory...
“Are Mental Illnesses Such as PMS and Depression Culturally Determined?”
Britain's Guardian discovers, in light of the DSM controversy, that a "growing number of psychiatrists suspect mental conditions are 'culture-bound syndromes' rather than exclusively...
‘Why the Fuss Over the D.S.M.-5?”
Sally Satel, a prominent psychiatrist and co-author of the forthcoming book “Brainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience" writes in the New York Times...
“Scientists Push to Renew Psychedelic Drug Research for Psychiatry”
-CBC Radio interviews UK neuropsychopharmacologist David Nutt, Mark Haden of MAPS, and historian Erika Dyck about the past and present politics and science of psychedelic research.
“Psychotropic Drug Prescriptions Increase at State Prisons”
Thirty-three percent of all inmates in New Mexico are taking at least one psychotropic drug. The rate is up from 25% in 2013, according to a report by The Santa Fe New Mexican. While the prescription rate at the federal level is 10%, 30% of male inmates and 70% of female inmates in New Mexico are prescribed psychotropic drugs.
“Children Today Suffer From a Deficit of Play”
Boston College Psychologist Peter Gray writes for Aeon about the impact of the gradual erosion of children’s’ play in the United States. “Over the...
“Survivors Push for Withdrawal Hotline and Change”
“Two Scots whose lives have been ravaged by prescription drugs are battling for recognition of the devastating withdrawal issues as well as proper support for victims,”...
Recognition That “Mental Illness” Is Not What We’ve Been Told
Monica Cassani reviews an article in the Wilson Quarterly about the changing paradigm of mental illness and the failure of the psychopharmacological era.
Beyond Meds...
Good People in Bad Systems Perpetrate Acts of Great Evil
Ben Goldacre answers readers' questions in the The Guardian.
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“Neuroplasticity: Enormous Implications for Anyone Who has been Labeled with a Psychiatric Illness”
Beyond Meds offers a compendium of our new knowledge about the ways we can change our brain's function and, in fact, its structure. "There...
“ADHD Drugs Could Harm Kids’ Sleep”
Children diagnosed with ADHD who are prescribed stimulant drugs have more sleep problems than those with ADHD that do not take these drugs.
“Porous Diagnostic Boundaries: A New Emphasis for the Bulletin”
Schizophrenia Bulletin wrestles with its identity and mission in light of current challenges to the diagnostic categories.
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“Florida Doctor Pleads Guilty to Fraud — Years After Complaints About His Prescribing”
Charles Ornstein at ProPublica reports on how long it took regulators to take action against the top prescriber of antipsychotic drugs in Florida’s Medicaid...
National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy Conference, August 20-23
-Bruce Levine, Leah Harris and Chacku Mathai are among the keynote speakers at the upcoming National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC.
“Is the Antidepressant Glass Half-Empty or Half-Full?”
So asks an article in Fierce Pharma. Good question.
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