Are we all going mad, or are the experts crazy? / Are psychiatric drugs an assault on the human condition? Fri, 19 Aug 2005 Below, two companion pieces: An Op Ed in the Los Angeles Times, by Stuart Kirk, a professor of social welfare at UCLA, addresses psychiatry’s conundum: the…
20% Drop in Psych Drugs Prescribed for US Children – WashPost Sat, 8 Oct 2005 The Washington Post reports (below) that prescriptions for antidepressants for children have dropped an unprecedented 20% in the US. A continuing series of substantiated reports and Black Box warnings about an increased risk of suicide,…
Paxil induced suicides in US quantified_Glaxo Faces criminal action in UK over “suicide” pills_Times Mon, 7 Jun Law enforcement is finally catching up with drug companies who, for years, concealed evidence of a drug-related suicide risk for some children and adults who take an antidepressant. The law requires the companies…
Antidepressant Makers Withhold Data on Children – Washington Post Thu, 29 Jan 2004 A front page article in The Washington Post addresses the key issue undermining public health and safety. Drug companies conceal unfavorable clinical trial findings: the tests failed to demonstrate that antidepressants are either safe or beneficial for…
UK issues ban on second SSRI antidepressant for children Sun, 21 Sep 2003 The UK Observer reports (below) that although antidepressant drugs of the SSRI class have not been approved for children, last year doctors (who are unaware of the severe risks associated with SSRIs) wrote 170,000 prescriptions of antidepressants…
GlascoSmithKline PAXIL Warning letter to Healthcare Professionals Thu, 19 Jun 2003 On June 10 the British government disapproved a license the widely popular, SSRI antidepressant, Seroxat (PAXIL), for use in children and adolescents after a committee examined the data from 9 clinical trials. The British Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory…
Paxil Protest at GSK US headquarters Sept. 26–Sept. 28 Sun, 18 Sep 2005 Families and victims who have suffered harm from SSRI antidepressants are heading for Philadelphia from the US and Canada for a “Paxil Protest.” Date: September 26 through Sept. 28. Place: GlaxoSmithKline US headquarters in Philadelphia The organizer of this event is…
Cash Interests Taint Drug Advice – NATURE / Death a Risk of Antipsychotics – AP Sun, 23 Oct 2005 An investigation by the journal, NATURE (the largest of its kind) reveals that not only do conflicts of interest taint the conduct and outcome of clinical trials, the authors who formulate…
Doctors Without Borders: Why you can’t trust medical journals anymore Tue, 13 Apr 2004 Related link: Hear an interview with Shannon Brownlee on NPR at: http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1874563 Doctors Without Borders in the Washington Monthly (excerpt below), looks at the intricate web of collaborating players in medicine who are financially tied one…
Daniel Troy Legacy: Public Virtually Defenseless against Unsafe Drugs Thu, 18 Nov 2004 The Associated Press reports that at a Congressional hearing today, Dr. David Graham a drug safety expert at the FDA told the Senate Finance Committee that the public is “virtually defenseless” if another medication such as Vioxx…
What Parents Aren’t Being told about their Kids Antidepressants – A Suicide Side-Effect? – SF Chronicle Sat, 10 Jan 2004 An in-depth article in The San Francisco Chronicle reveals how the hidden hazards of SSRIs put adolescents’ lives in danger. For one 16 year old teenager, Paxil posed greater risks…
4 compelling reasons against Mental Health Parity Fri, 12 Sep 2003 Compelling reasons NOT to approve insurance parity for mental health services come from the following recent reports suggesting that mental health services and treatments have often done more damage than good. Until psychiatry and mental health service providers develop…
