Randomized Controlled Trials: Evidence Biased Psychiatry By David Healy, MD MRCPsych Introduction A new drug gets introduced to the market. It has been approved after stringent scrutiny by the FDA, which requires ever more convincing evidence that it works and that its safe. The new treatment will always cost more…
Treating children as young as 4 for bipolar – WSJ Thu, 26 May 2005 A report in The Wall Street Journal should raise serious concerns about the legitimacy of psychiatric diagnosing and drug prescribing for children. The Journal reports that close to 20,000 US children are being diagnosed with bi-polar…
Testing Psychotropic Drugs in Children April 30, 2002 David Healy, MD University of Wales College of Medicine April 30th 2002. The background against which this paper is prepared is that in 1997 I organized, chaired and wrote up the recommendations from an International Roundtable Meeting for the British Association for…
Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing Thu, 14 Aug 2003 Dr. Sally Satel, a psychiatrist whose ready access to the national media gives her greater than ordinary influence with public health policymakers, has been described as “a conservative ideologue in a doctor’s white lab coat.” In his review of her book, PC,M.D.,…
NY Times Whitewashes Ritalin Experiment in Preschool Kids Sat, 16 Nov 2002 A story in The New York Times magazine about a controversial government sponsored drug experiment avoids examining the tough issues. Instead, it describes the growing pains of an apparently normal 4 year old boy, Sam, whose parents enrolled…
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…
AHRP Position Statement on Mental Health Screening – FDA Hearing Re: Drug Advertising Wed, 02 Nov 2005 FDA is holding public hearings (Nov 1, 2) Re: Direct-to-Consumer Promotion of Medical Products at: National Transportation Safety Board Boardroom and Conference Center 429 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 2 Time: 9:00 –5:00….
Bioethics Debate: Ethics of U Penn Surgical “Drug Implant” Experiment This debate between AHRP President, Vera Sharav and Bioethicist, Paul Root Volpe, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, was prompted by an October 7 infomail. The reasons for AHRP’s opposition to drug implants for psychiatric patients are explained here: https://ahrp.org/ahrpspeaks/drugimplant1103.php —–Original Message—–…
Depressed? NYC Screens for People at Risk – NY Times Wed, 13 Apr 2005 A front page article in The New York Times reports that the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, has instructed doctors at City hospitals – who care for one in four New Yorkers…
Don’t Medicate Away Student Angst – Chronicle Higher Ed Sun, 15 Jun 2003 The Chronicle of Higher Education has published a superb essay by Joli Jensen, a professor of communications from the University of Tulsa. Jensen recognizes the harmful effects of medicating students to suppress their experience of normal, turbulent,…
Eli Lilly Finances World Health Org (WHO) promoting psychotropic drugs Sat, 20 Aug 2005 The credibility of the World Health Organization (WHO) is in doubt since its financial ties to Eli Lilly and Johnson and Johnson. The reach of Big Pharma is indeed all-encompassing. NOTHING written in the mental health field by professional associations, such as…
Brain Development &Teen Mood Swings – ABC Sun, 24 Aug 2003 ABC reports about a brain imaging study using MRI that tracks the brains of normal children. This study provides physical evidence about the biological development of the normal brain and the individual pace of normal development. What’s new, according…
