Why We’re Establishing an Institute for Scientific Freedom
Scientific freedom and integrity are constantly under attack, particularly in healthcare, which is dominated by the drug industry and other economic interests. To help preserve honesty and integrity in science, the new Institute for Scientific Freedom will open on March 9 with an international meeting in Copenhagen.
Investigation Reveals Alarming ECT Practices in England
Audit of ECT usage, demographics, and adherence to guidelines and legislation raises concern over its continued use.
In Opioid Battle, Cherokee Want Their Day in Tribal Court
From The New York Times: The opioid epidemic is wreaking havoc on Cherokee families and putting Cherokee children at risk. Now, the Cherokee Nation has...
Study Finds Long-Term Opioid Use Increases Depression Risk
A study published this week in the Annals of Family Medicine reveals that opioid painkillers, when used long-term, can lead to the onset of depression. The researchers found that the link was independent of the contribution of pain to depression.
Hospitals Need to Earn Their Tax-Exempt Status
From STAT: Many of the country's most profitable and prominent hospitals enjoy tax-exempt status even though they often fail to meet the health needs of...
Researchers Test Harms and Benefits of Long Term Antipsychotic Use
Researchers from the City College of New York and Columbia University published a study this month testing the hypothesis that people diagnosed with schizophrenia treated long-term with antipsychotic drugs have worse outcomes than patients with no exposure to these drugs. They concluded that there is not a sufficient evidence base for the standard practice of long-term use of antipsychotic medications.
Are Psychiatric Experiments on Primates Ethical — Or Even Truly Useful?
Pediatric psychiatrist Sujartha Ramakrishna describes a planned University of Wisconsin psychiatric experiment "to discover new therapies by dissecting and analyzing the brains of baby...
Prominent Psychiatrists Discuss “the Crisis of Confidence in Medical Research”
-A large excerpt from a post by David Healy is sandwiched between commentary by psychiatrist Allen Frances.
âWas Sexism Really Responsible for the FDA’s Hesitancy to Sign Off on Flibanserin?â
âThe Food and Drug Administrationâs approval of pharmaceutical treatment for low sexual desire in women has launched a heated debate over the dangers and benefits of medicalizing sex,â Maya Dusenbery writes in the Pacific Standard. Is âfemale Viagraâ a feminist victory or a product of clever faux-feminist marketing by Big Pharma?
Outcome Reporting Bias in Antipsychotic Medication Trials
A new study in the journal Translational Psychiatry, an influential journal in biological psychiatry published by Nature, challenges the state of the research on antipsychotic drugs.
Danish Study Finds Better 10-year Outcomes in Patients Off Antipsychotics
Study finds that 74% of patients with a psychotic disorder off antipsychotics at end of 10 years are in remission.
New Study Concludes that Antidepressants are “Largely Ineffective and Potentially Harmfulâ
A new study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry concludes that âantidepressants are largely ineffective and potentially harmful.â
Good Psychologist, Bad Psychologist
In this episode on BBC Radio, psychiatrist Raj Persaud reports on the CIA's so-called "enhanced interrogation" program, which has frequently been characterized as torture. He discusses...
Big Pharma Might Be Intentionally Confusing You
From Benzinga: The FDA has suggested that drug commercials may intentionally list potential side effects in such a rapid-fire, overwhelming way that the warning messages...
New Medications Fail to Show Efficacy for Alzheimerâs Disease
Three phase III clinical trials assessing the efficacy of Lundbeckâs investigational drug idalopirdine for Alzheimerâs disease have failed
Antipsychotics Prescribed Off-Label for Challenging Behaviors
Antipsychotics are being prescribed to people who may have challenging behaviors but no mental disorder, according to new research published in this monthâs issue of BMJ. âExcessive use of psychotropic drugs has individual and systemic implications,â the researchers write. âAntipsychotics, in particular, are associated with several adverse side effects that can impair quality of life and lead to deleterious health outcomes.â
SSRI Ineffective at Treating Depression in Individuals with Chronic Kidney Disease
Dr. Madhukar Trivedi and colleagues find that the SSRI sertraline does not reduce depressive symptoms any more than placebo in people with Chronic Kidney Disease.
Screening Instruments Do Not Reflect Individual Experiences of Depression
Researchers detect discrepancies between the language used to describe lived experiences of mental health and the language used in modern screening tools.
Researchers Question Add-On Treatment for ‘Schizophrenia’
A common practice when antipsychotics are found to be ineffective for schizophrenia is to prescribe a second, additional psychoactive medication. Now, a new study suggests that this practice is not supported by the research.
Massive Reforms for Pharmaceutical System Proposed
The US/Canadian Pharmaceutical Policy Reform Working Group proposes universal drug coverage and ambitious reforms to the pharmaceutical system.
The Genetics of Schizophrenia: A Left Brain Theory about a Right Brain Deficit in...
In recent months, two teams of researchers in the UK and the US published complementary findings about the epigenetic origins of schizophrenia that have scientific communities who indulge in âgenetic conspiracy theoriesâ abuzz. While these results are intriguing, and no doubt involve pathbreaking research methodologies, this line of thought represents a decontextualized understanding both of the symptoms that are typically associated with schizophrenia, and their causes.
Publication Bias Inflates Perceived Efficacy of Depression Treatments, Study Finds
Researchers report the cumulative effects of major biases on the apparent efficacy of antidepressant and psychotherapy treatments.
New Study Raises Doubts About fMRI Neuroimaging Research
More than forty thousand papers have been published using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology to explore the brain. A new analysis of the common...
Positive Antidepressant Study âMisleadingâ and âErroneous”
An analysis of last yearâs positive finding in The Lancet about antidepressant efficacy shows errors, obfuscations, and misrepresentations.
Patient Advocacy Groups Take In Millions From Drugmakers
Kaiser Health News has launched a new database called Pre$scription for Power, which exposes donations pharmaceutical companies have made to patient advocacy groups. The...
