“Unrestrained: Pro Publica Exposé on AdvoServ’s Abuse of Disabled”
“While evidence of abuse of the disabled has piled up for decades, one for-profit company has used its deep pockets and influence to bully weak regulators and evade accountability.”
Doctors Launch Sweeping Pharmaceutical Reform Proposal
From Medical Xpress: A group of 21 prominent physicians have released a comprehensive proposal to guarantee everyone access to safe, innovative, and affordable medication. The proposed reforms...
We Pay a High Price for Unregulated Medical Devices
From The Lown Institute: New investigations and research are beginning to show the dangerous consequences resulting from the FDA's lack of oversight of medical devices.
"It sounds crazy...
There’s No Such Thing As “Sound Science”
In this piece for FiveThirtyEight, Christie Aschwanden explains how various industries have used the language of the "open science" reform movement, which advocates for more transparency in scientific...
“Pay $1000 to criticize a bad ‘blood test for depression’ article?”
In the PLOS Blog Mind the Brain, James Coyne recounts how he wanted to participate in post-publication peer review surrounding the "bad science" in...
How do we Know if a Drug Actually Works?
From Scientific American: The effectiveness of a particular medical treatment is often highly subjective and dependent on each individual's definition of the term "effective." Many...
Proove Biosciences Sells Off Assets as CEO Departs
From STAT: Proove Biosciences, which sold dubious DNA tests to predict opioid addiction risk, has been placed into court-ordered receivership for restructuring and asset sale. Experts...
Withdrawal Symptoms Routinely Confound Findings of Psychiatric Drug Studies
Researchers examine how rapid discontinuation can mimic the relapse of mental health symptoms and confound psychiatric drug studies.
Patient Race Associated with Varied Psychiatric Treatment Experiences
Findings point to association between race and the mental health care experiences of African-American and White veterans.
Fighting for the Meaning of Madness: An Interview with Dr. John Read
Akansha Vaswani interviews Dr. John Read about the influences on his work and his research on madness, psychosis, and the mental health industry.
Licensed to Bill: How Doctors Profit From Injury Assessments
From The Globe and Mail: Doctors are making millions of dollars a year by providing independent medical evaluations of accident victims for the auto-insurance industry....
Systematic Review Finds Antidepressants Double the Risk for Agitation and Violence in Healthy Volunteers
The Nordic Cochrane Center conducted a systematic review of existing research trials on antidepressants and found that the drugs doubled the risk of feelings...
Textbooks Provide Misleading Information on the Neurobiology of ADHD
When it comes to ADHD, some researchers suggest that medical textbooks provide inaccurate and misleading information.
One-quarter of Physicians Say Medical Research is “Sick”
In a survey of 315 medical scientists in the Netherlands, 15% "admitted to recently fabricating or falsifying research data," while more than 25% "admitted...
First Federal Zoloft Birth Defect Trial Scheduled
In a bellwether case, plaintiffs allege that Pfizer did not adequately warn patients that Zoloft (sertraline) would cause birth defects. The case is scheduled in Federal Court in March, and the verdict will have significant implications for future suits.
“How Too Much Medicine Can Kill You”
In an op-ed for the Guardian, cardiologist Aseem Malhotra writes: “Corporate greed and systematic political failure have brought healthcare to its knees. There are too many misinformed doctors and misinformed patients. It’s time for greater transparency and stronger accountability, so that doctors and nurses can provide the best quality care for the most important person in the consultation room – the patient.”
Effects of Racism on Depression in Black College Women
Black college women endorse more perceived stress and depressive symptoms than White college women, highlighting the impacts of racism.
Former Eli Lilly Executive is Trump’s Choice for Health Secretary
From The New York Times: President Trump has nominated Alex M. Azar II, a former president of the American division of Eli Lilly, to be...
Mad Science, Psychiatric Coercion and the Therapeutic State: An Interview with Dr. David Cohen
MIA's Peter Simons interviews David Cohen, PhD, on his path to researching mental health, coercive practices, and discontinuation from psychiatric drugs.
Researcher Critically Examines Movements for Global Mental Health
China Mills raises concerns that global mental health movements obscure social determinants of health and naturalize Western mental health concepts.
“SCIENTIFIC REGRESS”
William A. Wilson presents shocking evidence that a lot of published research is false and that science’s self-correcting mechanisms are broken. “There is no...
Does Your Child Have ‘ADHD’? It Might Depend On Your Doctor
A study published in the journal Pediatrics reveals large differences from one pediatrician to the next when it comes to diagnosing and prescribing drugs for ‘ADHD.’ The researchers found that the percentage of children being diagnosed with ‘ADHD’ varied from as high as 16% of patients at some offices to as little as 1% of patients at others. The data also revealed significant but lower variability in the pediatric diagnosis of anxiety and depression.
Researcher Challenges Clinical Effectiveness of Antidepressants
A new article in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine addresses common misinterpretations of the efficacy research on antidepressants.
“Mental Illness Mostly Caused by Life Events Not Genetics, Argue Psychologists”
According to psychologists, “mental illness is largely caused by social crises such as unemployment or childhood abuse.” If this is so, why are we...
Transparency and Outcome Reporting Not Improving in Behavioral Health Studies
Randomized controlled trials published in four leading behavioral health journals show that new requirements for registering of trials does not seem to be improving trial design or transparency.
