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…
Conflicts of Interest Taint UK Gov panel investigating SSRI Wed, 19 Mar 2003 An article from the UK Guardian sheds light on how the credibility of an expert investigative government appointed committee is corrupted by financial conflicts of interest. Mounting complaints from patients and the UK watchdog organization, Social Audit,…
Antidepressants Pregnancy Risk: Babies Adversely Affected Sat, 5 Feb 2005 Thanks to the BBC 3-part Panorama series (beginning October 2002), it is no longer a secret that coming off SSRI antidepressants can cause serious symptoms of withdrawal in some users. Christopher Pittman is on trial for killing his grandparents while…
Cong Hearing Re: Disclosure Pediatric SSRI Trials Wed, 7 Jul 2004 A hearing has been tentatively set for July 20th by the House subcommittee on oversight and investigations, chaired by Congressman James Greenwood. The hearing will address issues of disclosure involving pediatric antidepressant drug trials–or more accurately, non-disclosure of adverse…
FDA Approves Lilly’s Cymbalta for Depression Despite Risk of Suicide Wed, 4 Aug 2004 In a display of arrogance and defiance–in the midst of federal investigations into the marketing of antidepressants–the FDA has approved Eli Lilly’s antidepression drug, Cymbalta (duloxetine). Lilly’s press release announced: “Cymbalta, a balanced and potent reuptake…
Go Slow on Mental Health Screening: Dr. Karen Effrem responds to New Freedom Commission Chair, Michael Hogan – Wash Times Sun, 31 Oct 2004 A letter to the editor in the Washington Times – Go slow on Mental Health Screening – by AHRP’s newest board member, pediatrician Dr. Karen Effrem,…
Wyeth Pharma Warns Doctors Against Rx Effexor to Kids Tue, 2 Sep 2003 View Wyeth Warning Letter The Hartford Courant reports that the latest warning against prescribing an antidepressant drug for children comes from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, makers of Effexor, a drug just like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil–a class known as…
Commonly recommended Treatments found Worthless Wed, 19 Mar 2003 Independent analyses of the clinical studies upon which widely recommended drug treatments have been based, have now been found to be fatally faulty, and the drugs are deemed worthless. An analysis of 83 studies found that drugs used to treat 90,000…
How to Quit the Cure–Antidepressant Withdrawal – NewsWeek Wed Aug 3, 2005 The current issue of NEWSWEEK lets readers in on the dirty little secret about the prescribed antidepressants of the SSRI variety. Although psychiatrists shudder at calling a spade a spade, these prescribed drugs are physically addictive–as is evident…
Statin-Cholesterol Guidelines–Industry influenced? Wed, 14 Jul 2004 Scientific journal editors are scrambling about how to react to bad publicity emanating from public disclosure that the scientific reports they have published are likely to be biased because the authors’ had financial ties to the companies whose drugs / devices they report…
NYSOMH Issues Alerts, Guidelines re Antidepressant Use in Children, Teens Wed, 29 Dec 2004 The NYS Office of Mental Health has issued letters and an advisory to state mental health providers “explaining” FDA’s warning and the use of antidepressants in children. As you will note, OMH downplays the meaning of…
Take Action: Just Say No to Stigmatizing Screening and Unsafe Drugs Tue, 26 Oct 2004 FYI /ACTION! AHRP believes that America’s school children should not be screened and labeled without a guarantee of the proven accuracy of the screening tool, and the proven safety and therapeutic value of the treatment…
