RAISE Study Out Of Sync With Media Reports
Writing on his 1 Boring Old Man blog, Dr. Mickey Nardo reflects on the media frenzy around the RAISE study and asks why the prescription data has not been released. He adds skepticism about the political motives of the potentially overblown results, which he sees as a clear push for increased mental health funding.
Outrage Over Biotech Party Objectifying Women
“Two prominent women in the biotech community were so appalled by reports about a party at J.P. Morgan featuring scantily clad models that they've...
Payment Disclosure Bill is a Good First Step, but More is Needed
From The Globe and Mail: Ontario's newly proposed physician-payment disclosure law is an important first step in the direction of improved health care and increased...
Are Depression Guidelines Missing the Evidence for Exercise?
A recent review suggests that depression guidelines do not incorporate evidence for exercise within a stepped-care approach and may be over-reliant on pharmacological treatments.
Public Citizen Criticizes FDA’s Draft Guidelines on Drug Risk Disclosures
In the wake of a major court decision, the US Food and Drug Administration has issued new guidelines for public comment, covering how pharmaceutical...
“European Regulator Recommends Suspending Numerous Drugs Over Clinical Trial Problems”
Pharmalot’s Ed Silverman reports that a number of generic drugs, sold by Novartis and Teva Pharmaceuticals, may be pulled off of the shelves after...
Study Finds No Correlation between Personality at 14 and 77
This result calls into question popular notions about the correlations between personality and later-life achievement and health outcomes.
Study Shows Poor Outcomes for the Treatment for Childhood Anxiety
New research identifies poor long-term outcomes for both CBT and medications for treating anxiety disorders in childhood.
Debunking The Latest Gene Study
The researchers suggest that their finding implies a common genetic cause behind five different “disorders.” This is big news! If true, it validates the biomedical view of mental “illness” and suggests that future medical treatments could “cure” these conditions. However, that grand conclusion is not supported by the data.
Is the FDA Withholding Data to Protect a Drug Manufacturer?
From Scientific American: The FDA seems determined to prevent the public from accessing valuable data about the safety, efficacy, and potential adverse effects of the...
Is an Open Data Revolution Almost Here?
-Tom Jefferson updates on the "revolution" promised by European Medicines Agency policies on publicly releasing more detailed data from drug clinical trials.
Researchers Question the Utility of an ADHD Diagnosis
A new article examines the usefulness of the ADHD diagnosis and suggests alternatives
How Academic Psychiatry Minimized SSRI Withdrawal
If academic psychiatry is evidence-based, why did it take two decades to recognize SSRI withdrawal as widespread and chronic among patients?
Dr. Pies Defending Psychiatry’s Position on Auditory Hallucinations
On September 4, 2017, psychiatrist Ronald Pies published an article titled: "Hearing Voices and Psychiatry’s (Real) Medical Model." Let's take a look at the six fundamental assumptions that the eminent and scholarly Dr. Pies assures us "underlie the model most psychiatrists actually use in their clinical work."
How a Focus on Rich Educated People Skews Brain Studies
From The Atlantic: Neuroimaging studies have traditionally scanned the brains of unrepresentative samples, focusing on Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic populations. Although the results...
Researchers Find Inadequate Reporting of the Dangers of Ketamine Treatment for Depression
Researchers report that dangerous side effects are not being adequately reported in the trials of ketamine for depression.
An Anarchist Teaches Patients to Make Their Own Meds
From STAT: In response to rising drug costs, anarchist and biohacker Michael Laufer plans to teach people to manufacture their own medications.
"The de facto leader...
Large German Anti-Stigma Campaign Shows Little Effect on Attitudes
“Overall, this study showed that the information and awareness campaign had almost no significant effects on the general public's attitudes toward people affected by either schizophrenia or depression,” the researchers, led by German medical sociologist Anna Makowski, wrote. “One could assume that deeply rooted convictions cannot be modified by rather time-limited and general activities targeted at the public.”
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...
Gilead Says Drug Profits Must Stay High to Pay for ‘Innovation’
From the Los Angeles Times: In attempting to justify skyrocketing drug prices, John C. Martin, the executive chairman of Gilead Sciences, claimed that pharmaceutical companies...
“Harvard Affiliates Protest at Tufts for ‘Pharma Fools Day’”
Students from Harvard Medical School joined students from Tufts University to protest Joseph DiMasi, who recently published a study that the students claim is...
Lancet Editorial Argues for Better Science in Mental Health
An editorial in the Lancet Psychiatry suggests that mental health professionals rely more on intuition and "good intentions" than "good science," and that needs...
ADHD Diagnosis Based on “Illogical Rhetoric,” Analysis Claims
In a philosophically rigorous article, Spanish researcher Marino Pérez-Álvarez examines the logic of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“Early Behavior Therapy Found to Aid Children With A.D.H.D.”
“Children with attention-deficit problems improve faster when the first treatment they receive is behavioral therapy — like instruction in basic social skills — than...
FDA: Abilify Promotions Are Misleading Physicians and the Public
The US FDA has requested that Otsuka "immediately cease" distributing some of its educational materials for its top-selling antipsychotic Abilify.
