The History of Whistleblowing, and Whistleblower of the Year
1 Boring Old Man reviews the history of whistleblowing, and the story of Allen Jones, who started the ball rolling on the Johnson &...
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...
“When Does That Go On Trial?”
1 Boring Old Man scrutinizes the evidence that Johnson & Johnson hid evidence of Risperdal's breast-growing properties, among other improper actions, concluding "The story...
“If This Isn’t Racketeering…”
1 Boring Old Man opines that the lawyers in the Texas TMAP trial "were operating on a higher plane than these guys in Philadelphia,"...
Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients
Monica Cassani writes an impassioned review of Ben Goldacre's new book Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients.
Beyond Meds →...
We are not meant to be well-balanced, sober servants of collective values…
Monica Cassani continues her daily contributions to life with this excerpt from James Hollis' "Creating a Life: Finding Your Individual Path."
Beyond Meds →
DSM-5: Inter-Rater Reliability on the Decline
1 Boring Old Man reviews the decline in inter-rater reliability from the DSM-II to the DSM-5.
1 Boring Old Man →
J&J Tries to Block a Reporter from Courtroom
Philadelphia Inquirer reporter David Sell writes of Johnson & Johnson's attempt to remove him from the courtroom during jury selection for the upcoming Risperdal...
J&J CEO Too Busy to Testify in Gynecomastia Trial
David Sell writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the travels and tribulations of Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky, who will be too busy...
Mental Health Rights, Pharma, and the Election
Jim Gottstein writes in Pharmalot about developments in the mental health rights field, how pharma has contributed (positively or negatively), and how the upcoming...
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...
$11 Billion in Drug Industry Fines Not Enough
The U.K.'s Independent asks whether the $11 Billion in fines that the drug industry has racked up, and related "corporate integrity agreements," are enough...
Profile of J&J CEO Alex Gorsky
1 Boring Old Man reviews the rise, and possible fall and its implication, of Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky; who has built his...
Beyond Meds: “Healer Heal Thyself”
Monica Cassani writes in "Beyond Meds" about the general lack of self-awareness among mental health treaters and the consequent lack of a recovery orientation...
Surgeon General Targets Rising Suicide Rate, But Not Drugs Linked to Suicide
An Op-Ed in Op-Ed News discusses the disconnect between concern about rising suicide rates in the general population (and the military) and awareness of...
Who Determines Efficacy?
1 Boring Old Man reflects on his work with children and adolescents, in which he directly observes the troubling effects of antidepressants, and the...
All Quiet on the DSM Front
1 Boring Old Man write on the silent treatment echoing from the DSM-5 battlefront.
Article →
Former FDA Counsel: J&J Settlement ‘Is Huge’
In an interview with Pharmalot, former FDA associate chief counsel Arnie Friede discusses the impact of last month's $181 million Risperdal settlement on pharmaceuticals'...
Imagining the Fall of Antipsychotics
John Read and Phil Thomas imagine the eventual confession and apology by pharmaceutical companies - twenty years from now - of the harm done...
The Anterior Cingulate: a Cortex in Competition
The anterior cingulate figures in much research on addiction, OCD, schizophrenia, ADHD, social anxiety, and depression. Here, Scientific American looks at its apparent connection...
“Lithium Toxicity – What You Need to Know”
An article on About.com notes the dangers of lithium.
Abstract →
“Is the Antidepressant Glass Half-Empty or Half-Full?”
So asks an article in Fierce Pharma. Good question.
Abstract →
Psychiatric Diagnosis as Subjective Opinion Rather than Science
An opinion article by a survivor of forced hospitalization writes in The Irish Times argues that the 30% reduction in involuntary detentions in Ireland...
1 Boring Old Man Bores Even More Into Study 329’s Raw Data
1 Boring Old Man bores ever more deeply into the newly available raw data from GlaxoSmithKline's study of Paxil in children, finding that "if...
The Americanization of Everyone
The indispensable Gianna Kalli points us toward the work of Ethan Watters, author of "Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche."
Beyond Meds...