Organizational systems specialist K.L. Carlson was named by Washington Technology as a mover and shaker. Her inside view of the pharmaceutical industry, the power they wield and the death and injury they cause will shake you to your core. In this book she tells you the real score and how you can protect yourself and your family.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Russian activist says held in psychiatric clinic
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian opposition activist told Reuters on Tuesday from inside a psychiatric hospital that she was being held there against her will because she had blown the whistle on abuse in mental health care.
Larisa Arap of the anti-Kremlin group United Civil Front and her colleagues say she is a victim of a local vendetta by healthcare workers after she gave an account to a newspaper alleging patients at another psychiatric unit in the same region were beaten and raped.
The full details of the case are not known, but Arap's detention has caused an outcry among Kremlin opponents who say it echoes the Soviet practice of confining political dissidents in mental institutions to keep them quiet.
Sounding exhausted but coherent, Arap spoke to Reuters on a mobile telephone from the psychiatric ward near the city of Murmansk, on the edge of the Arctic Circle, where she has been since July 5.
She said her problems began when she went to see a doctor to get a certificate testifying she was in sound mental health -- a standard requirement in Russia for renewing a driver's license.
"She (the doctor) called the police. They kept me by force, then an ambulance was called, they bundled me in there and brought me here where I was beaten," Arap said on the telephone she had borrowed from a visitor.
"I feel unwell but I am trying to hold out. But my strength is dying away," Arap said.
Yelena Vasilyeva, a fellow opposition activist who has visited Arap in hospital, said doctors had forcibly injected Arap with drugs.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL3167007520070731?feedType=RSS&rpc=451
Monday, July 30, 2007
Exercise may help with hard-to-treat depression - better than meds
July 19, 2007
Exercise may help with hard-to-treat depression
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regular exercise may improve depression symptoms in people who've failed to get better with antidepressant medication, the results of a small study suggest.
The study found that depressed women who started a supervised exercise regimen had significant improvements in their symptoms over the next 8 months. Those who didn't exercise showed only marginal improvements.
Before the study, all of the women had tried taking antidepressant medication for at least two months but had failed to improve.
A number of studies have found that physically active people are less likely than couch potatoes to suffer depression. Some clinical trials have shown regular exercise can help treat the disorder, and perhaps be as effective as antidepressant drugs in some cases.
The new findings suggest that exercise can even help people whose symptoms have been resistant to medication, according to the study authors.
Skyrocketing numbers of kids are prescribed powerful antipsychotic drugs. Is it safe? Nobody knows.
The 'atypical' dilemma
Skyrocketing numbers of kids are prescribed powerful antipsychotic drugs. Is it safe? Nobody knows.
By ROBERT FARLEY, Times Staff Writer
Published July 29, 2007
More and more, parents at wit's end are begging doctors to help them calm their aggressive children or control their kids with ADHD. More and more, doctors are prescribing powerful antipsychotic drugs.
In the past seven years, the number of Florida children prescribed such drugs has increased some 250 percent. Last year, more than 18,000 state kids on Medicaid were given prescriptions for antipsychotic drugs.
Even children as young as 3 years old. Last year, 1,100 Medicaid children under 6 were prescribed antipsychotics, a practice so risky that state regulators say it should be used only in extreme cases.
These numbers are just for children on fee-for-service Medicaid, generally the poor and disabled. Thousands more kids on private insurance are also on antipsychotics.
Almost entirely driving this spiraling trend is the rise of a class of antipsychotic drugs called atypicals.
These drugs emerged in the 1990s and replaced the older, "typical" antipsychotics like Haldol or Thorazine, which are often associated with Parkinson-like shakes.
The atypicals were developed to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults. But once on the market, doctors are free to prescribe them to children, and for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
There is almost no research on the long-term effects of such powerful medications on the developing brains of children. The more that researchers learn, the less comfortable many are becoming with atypicals.
Initially billed as wonder drugs with few significant side effects, evidence is mounting that they can cause rapid weight gain, diabetes, even death.
They're also expensive. On average last year, it cost Medicaid nearly $1,800 for each child on atypical antipsychotics. In the last seven years, the cost to taxpayers for atypical antipsychotics prescribed to children in Florida jumped nearly 500 percent, from $4.7-million to $27.5-million.
Record numbers of children prescribed anti-depressants - UK
Record numbers of children prescribed anti-depressants
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article
_id=470235&in_page_id=1770
The number of schoolchildren prescribed anti-depressants and
mind-altering drugs has more than quadrupled in the last decade, it has
emerged.
Brave Mother Fights off Psychotic Psychiatrist
http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3416296&page=1
Brave Mother Fights off Psychotic Psychiatrist
The Entire Unprovoked Attack Was Caught on Tape
By CHRIS FRANCESCANI and LAURA E. DAVIS
July 26, 2007 --
Manhattan's famed district attorney's office the model for "Law & Order" is fighting to keep a "dangerously mentally ill" psychiatrist locked up, after he admitted to attacking a 2-year-old boy and then choking his terrified mother unconscious, according to a spokeswoman for the district attorney.
The attack was caught by a surveillance camera and prosecutors this week used a PowerPoint presentation of images from the assault to bolster their case.
"We are arguing that [the attacker] is dangerously mentally ill and needs to be in a secure facility," Barbara Thompson, spokeswoman for veteran Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, told ABC News' Law & Justice Unit.
William Johns III, a bipolar Florida psychiatrist who has a history of alcohol problems and violence, admitted in court papers that he drove to New York last summer to escape evil "forces" that he believed were chasing him, Thompson said.
In testimony Wednesday, a friend of the psychiatrist reportedly told a judge that Johns said he had to go to New York to "get out of 'The Truman Show'" a reference to a 1998 Jim Carrey movie in which the lead character doesn't realize that he's the star of a wildly popular television show and that his friends and neighbors are all actors in the show.
PedMed: Multi-drug use questioned
Published: July 27, 2007 at 8:00 AM
By LIDIA WASOWICZ
UPI Senior Science Writer
SAN FRANCISCO, July 27 (UPI) -- Be it a sign of a growing dependency on drug treatments or increasing incidence of coexisting pediatric illnesses, the number of children taking multiple medications is rising at rates some deem unhealthy.
UPI Senior Science Writer
SAN FRANCISCO, July 27 (UPI) -- Be it a sign of a growing dependency on drug treatments or increasing incidence of coexisting pediatric illnesses, the number of children taking multiple medications is rising at rates some deem unhealthy.
The National Center for Health Statistics reports some 3 million tykes and teens under 18 were taking three or more prescription drugs during the study month in 2002.
In some cases, youngsters suffer simultaneous conditions, so-called comorbidities, which call for separate medicines.
For example, studies show up to one in five children newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes may also have a psychiatric condition, including depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, developmental delay, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
"There is a high rate of physical problems in people with psychiatric problems," said Ronald Brown, professor of public health, psychology and pediatrics at Temple University Health Sciences Center in Philadelphia. "If you have two diagnosable conditions, you must manage both."
Sometimes, a medicine may cause symptoms that require additional drugs for relief. For example, clonidine, an anti-hypertension remedy, has been used to alleviate insomnia and other sleep disturbances experienced by many children on Ritalin and other ADHD medications.
One consequence may be an increased risk of suffering ill effects.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Crazed child psychiatrist attacks child
New York Post
FLORIDA DRINK SHRINK ATTACKS NYC MOM
DOC WENT OFF MEDS BEFORE ASSAULT
July 25, 2007
By Laura Italiano
AMBUSH: Florida Psychiatrist William Johns sneaks up on Jil Novenski and her son, Thorin.
July 25, 2007 -- Last summer, a bipolar Florida psychiatrist with a history of alcohol abuse and violence went off his meds, got in his car and drove to New York City to better hide, among the crowds, from the evil "forces" pursuing him.
He peeled off the trans-dermal patch that dispensed medication directly into his skin, and threw it out his car window as he drove.
Once in the city, he parked on the West Side - leaving his wallet in his car - and walked to the New York Waterway terminal at 39th Street and 12th Avenue.
There, unprovoked on a sunny July afternoon, he admittedly grabbed a 2-year-old boy named Thorin who lived nearby and happened to be playing with his plastic bicycle.
Then, when Thorin's terrified mother tried to stop him, he threw her to the concrete and choked her into unconsciousness, stopping only when two bystanders hoisted him off her.
"I begged, I begged, I begged," the hero mom, Jil Novenski, testified in tears yesterday - recounting her horror to a Manhattan judge in hopes that the psychotic stranger may be locked up forever.
"I screamed, 'Oh, God! Please, no!' I thought for sure he was going to kill me in front of my son. I wanted to make sure that if I was going to die, he wasn't going to get [Thorin.]
"He squeezed harder and harder," Novenski remembered of the stranger's hands around her throat. "Then, everything went black."
Amazingly, the psychotic shrink - child psychiatrist Dr. William Johns III - remains licensed to practice medicine in Florida, West Virginia and Hawaii, according to online records.
This, despite his having been in jail for the full year since admittedly attacking the woman and her son.
Johns quickly told cops he was Jesus Christ, trying to save the boy from some vague "danger."
"I tightened my grip on her when the two guys came over because I thought they might try to pull me off of her," he admitted, according to court documents.
Johns, who has a history of severe alcohol dependence, drunken driving, violence and stopping his medications, is now fighting to be freed so he can attend an outpatient psychiatric program near his hometown, Vero Beach.
He pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness in April. Yesterday's hearing, which continues today, will determine if his next move is out the door or - as prosecutors and Novenski hope - into a locked psych facility.
"Otherwise, what are we waiting for?" Novenski, 39, told The Post yesterday. "He's going to kill somebody."
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Bush To Veto Ban On Mercury In Vaccines
Bush To Veto Ban On Mercury In Vaccines
Clear links to neurological disorders ignored, removed from animal vaccines but fine for babies
Clear links to neurological disorders ignored, removed from animal vaccines but fine for babies
President Bush is to veto a bill that would ban mercury in flu vaccines for children despite its known links to autism and other neurological disorders and despite the fact that he pledged in 2004 to support such a move when campaigning for re-election.
The White House stated on Tuesday that President Bush would veto the FY 2008 HHS-Labor-Education Appropriations Bill because of the cost and "objectionable provisions" such as a measure to ban the use of childhood flu vaccines that contain thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, a press release from Autism advocacy group Safe Minds on the PRNewswire-USNewswire states.
Bush is calling for an amendment that would remove the children's safety provision from the bill.
Safe Minds warns:
"Under the current administration, mercury has been and will continue to be knowingly injected into the youngest of American citizens. The controversial mercury-containing preservative thimerosal has been linked by thousands of parents as being the cause of their children's mercury poisoning and autism."
The flu vaccine, which continues to be manufactured with mercury, is recommended for all pregnant women, infants and children despite the fact that the
exposing these same sensitive groups to thimerosal containing vaccines.
Mercury is the second most toxic metal known to man behind Uranium. Thimerosal is used in vaccines not because it is good for you, but purely because it prevents vaccine contamination. Yet some have questioned why thimerosal is even considered for vaccines because there are obviously safer alternatives to preventing contamination. Questions also remain about how pharmaceutical companies conduct vaccine research and how the government regulates those companies.
Despite these facts, sickening reports such as the one below continue to make out that injecting the second most poisonous substance in the world into babies is actually GOOD for their health:
During Bush's reelection campaign in 2004 he stated:
"I support the removal of Thimerosal from vaccines on the childhood national vaccine schedule. During a second term as President, I will continue to support increased funding to support a wide variety of research initiatives aimed at seeking definitive causes and/or triggers of autism. It is important to note that while there are many possible theories about causes or triggers of autism, no one material has been definitely included or excluded."
Despite this he now plans to veto a bill that would remove Thimerosal because of "costs". What costs would these be? Do the costs of big pharmaceutical companies and fat government kickbacks outweigh the costs of the healthy brains of every child in
Furthermore, though Bush stated that the evidence for links between mercury laden vaccines and autism are not concrete, there are scores of studies and testimony from credible figures asserting the exact opposite.
Starting in the early nineties, government regulators dramatically increased the amount of Thimerosal exposure to babies by adding two new vaccines to the roster of mandatory immunizations children must have before enrolling in school. The combination of the Hepatitis B vaccine and the HiB vaccine more than doubled the amount of mercury children.
Mercury expert Dr. Boyd Haley of the
The combination of the Hepatitis B vaccine and the HiB vaccine more than doubled the amount of mercury children in the 90s. "If you take a ten-pound baby in, and it gets four shots on that one day, which is a common practice - that's equivalent to giving a 100-pound person forty shots in one day," said Haley.
Haley has also proposed that Thimerosal in infant vaccines was also the most likely toxic agent involved in Gulf War syndrome and autistic spectrum disorders. Think about this, they are injecting into babies something that is breaking down the bodies of full grown combat veterans.
While the FDA questioned thimerosal's safety in the 80s, noting that it was "not safe for 'over-the-counter' topical use because of its potential for cell damage", and while it was removed from animal vaccines for the same reason, the government regulatory committees did nothing to question its use in childhood vaccines.
It's too dangerous for cats and dogs but the government is happy for our babies to be pumped full of the stuff on a regular basis.
Dr Haley has also pointed out that it is also well known by any good biochemist that thimerosal and aluminum react dangerously when combined together. Given that Aluminum is a compound added to many vaccines as a catalyst you would think the government would have heeded this warning, yet it has still done nothing.
Despite the continued reports doubting the link between Thimerosal and autism, more studies have continued to verify the link. As reported in the Capitol Times recently:
A study done at the University of Washington in 2006 showed that baby primates exposed to injected thimerosal (50 percent mercury), at a rate equal to the 1990s childhood vaccine schedule, retained twice as much inorganic mercury in their brains as primates exposed to equal amounts of ingested methylmercury. We know from autometallographic determination that inorganic mercury present in the brain, following the dealkylation of organic mercury, is the toxic agent responsible for changes in the microglial population and leads to neuroinflammation.
In other words thimerosal, inorganic mercury, leads to neuroinflammatory disease which is proven to be the underlying medical condition of autism.
Furthermore In a study done at the
Moreover, Professor Philippe Grandjean, from Harvard University and the
The links between the ingestion of mercury and neurological breakdown are clear and proven. Professors all over the world are telling us outright that it is literally destroying people's brains. Even if you choose to believe, in the face of all the evidence, that the links are still somewhat questionable, the solution is still obvious. GET IT OUT OF THE VACCINES NOW.
Safe Minds also point out that according to the EPA, one in every six women of childbearing age already has blood levels of mercury high enough to cause neurological damage to their unborn children due to environmental exposures alone.
"Injecting even more mercury into the bodies of pregnant women, infants and children when it is not a necessary component of vaccines is just bad medicine," said Lyn Redwood, president of Safe Minds and parent of a mercury-injured child. "It defies logic that a flu vaccine must be disposed of as a hazardous waste if it is not used, but somehow injecting the same mercury-containing vaccine into a baby is safe."
Yes it defies logic to someone who believes in the unabated progression of the entirety of the human race, however, to an elite devoid of all morality and interested only in the endgame pursuit of their own biological, spiritual and financial monopoly over the whole planet, it makes perfect sense.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Pediatric Ritalin Use May Affect Developing Brain
New Study Suggests Pediatric Ritalin Use May Affect Developing Brain
Article Date: 19 Jul 2007 - 1:00 PDT
Use of the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug Ritalin by young children may cause long-term changes in the developing brain, suggests a new study of very young rats by a research team at
The study is among the first to probe the effects of Ritalin (methylphenidate) on the neurochemistry of the developing brain. Between 2 to18 percent of American children are thought to be affected by ADHD, and Ritalin, a stimulant similar to amphetamine and cocaine, remains one of the most prescribed drugs for the behavioral disorder.
"The changes we saw in the brains of treated rats occurred in areas strongly linked to higher executive functioning, addiction and appetite, social relationships and stress. These alterations gradually disappeared over time once the rats no longer received the drug," notes the study's senior author Dr. Teresa Milner, professor of neuroscience at
The findings, specially highlighted in the Journal of Neuroscience suggest that doctors must be very careful in their diagnosis of ADHD before prescribing Ritalin. That's because the brain changes noted in the study might be helpful in battling the disorder but harmful if given to youngsters with healthy brain chemistry, Dr. Milner says.
In the study, week-old male rat pups were given injections of Ritalin twice a day during their more physically active nighttime phase. The rats continued receiving the injections up until they were 35 days old.
"Relative to human lifespan, this would correspond to very early stages of brain development," explains Jason Gray, a graduate student in the Program of Neuroscience and lead author of the study. "That's earlier than the age at which most children now receive Ritalin, although there are clinical studies underway that are testing the drug in 2- and 3-year olds."
The relative doses used were at the very high end of what a human child might be prescribed, Dr. Milner notes. Also, the rats were injected with the drug, rather than fed Ritalin orally, because this method allowed the dose to be metabolized in a way that more closely mimicked its metabolism in humans.
The researchers first looked at behavioral changes in the treated rats. They discovered that -- just as happens in humans -- Ritalin use was linked to a decline in weight. "That correlates with the weight loss sometimes seen in patients," Dr. Milner notes.
And in the "elevated-plus maze" and "open field" tests, rats examined in adulthood three months after discontinuing the drug displayed fewer signs of anxiety compared to untreated rodents. "That was a bit of a surprise because we thought a stimulant might cause the rats to behave in a more anxious manner," Dr. Milner says.
The researchers also used high-tech methods to track changes in both the chemical neuroanatomy and structure of the treated rats' brains at postnatal day 35, which is roughly equivalent to the adolescent period.
"These brain tissue findings revealed Ritalin-associated changes in four main areas," Dr. Milner says. "First, we noticed alterations in brain chemicals such as catecholamines and norepinephrine in the rats' prefrontal cortex -- a part of the mammalian brain responsible for higher executive thinking and decision-making. There were also significant changes in catecholamine function in the hippocampus, a center for memory and learning."
Treatment-linked alterations were also noted in the striatum -- a brain region known to be key to motor function -- and in the hypothalamus, a center for appetite, arousal and addictive behaviors.
Dr. Milner stressed that, at this point in their research, it's just too early to say whether the changes noted in the Ritalin-exposed brain would be of either benefit or harm to humans.
"One thing to remember is that these young animals had normal, healthy brains," she says. "In ADHD-affected brains -- where the neurochemistry is already somewhat awry or the brain might be developing too fast -- these changes might help 'reset' that balance in a healthy way. On the other hand, in brains without ADHD, Ritalin might have a more negative effect. We just don't know yet."
One thing was clear: 3 months after the rats stopped receiving Ritalin, the animals' neurochemistry largely had resolved back to the pre-treatment state.
"That's encouraging, and supports the notion that this drug therapy may be best used over a relatively short period of time, to be replaced or supplemented with behavioral therapy," Dr. Milner says. "We're concerned about longer-term use. It's unclear from this study whether Ritalin might leave more lasting changes, especially if treatment were to continue for years. In that case, it is possible that chronic use of the drug would alter brain chemistry and behavior well into adulthood."
This work was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Co-researchers included Dr. Annelyn Torres-Reveron, Victoria Fanslow, Dr. Carrie Drake, Dr. Mary Ward, Michael Punsoni, Jay Melton, Bojana Zupan, David Menzer and Jackson Rice -- all of Weill Cornell Medical College; Dr. Russell Romeo of The Rockefeller University, New York City; and Dr. Wayne Brake, of Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
Weill Cornell Medical College -- Cornell University's Medical School located in New York City -- is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Weill Cornell, which is a principal academic affiliate of
http://www.med.cornell.edu
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Unmedicated Mind
The Unmedicated Mind
Backlash against antidepressants is fueling new interest in alternative treatments.
By NANCY KEATES
July 13, 2007
July 13, 2007
From lobotomies with ice picks to early antidepressants that caused brain hemorrhaging, Americans have a complicated and ever-changing approach to treating mental illness. Now, spurred by the growing disenchantment with antidepressants, an increasing number of people are seeking treatment for depression, anxiety and eating disorders from naturopaths, acupuncturists and even chiropractors. At the same time, more traditional psychiatrists are incorporating massage and meditation in their practices.
The treatments go beyond needles and spinal manipulation. They include Emotional Freedom Techniques -- tapping on the body's "energy meridians" as the patient thinks about upsetting incidents -- and craniosacral therapy, which involves a gentle rocking of the head, neck, spine and pelvis. In cranial electrotherapy stimulation, a AA-battery-powered device sends mild electrical currents to the brain. (The procedure has its roots in ancient Greek medicine, when electric eels were used.) Clinicians are also prescribing supplements like omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish oil, or amino acids like L-theanine, found in green tea.
Sarah Spring had been in therapy with a psychiatrist and on the antidepressant Wellbutrin for four years to work through a childhood trauma, but felt she wasn't making any progress. So she went to a naturopath -- a practitioner trained in holistic therapy and alternative treatments like herbal medicine and nutrition. (They attend a four-year naturopathic school -- a bachelor's degree is a prerequisite -- but only 15 states license naturopaths.) After two sessions of Emotional Freedom Techniques, the tapping treatment that is meant to clear emotions and restore balance, Ms. Spring says she doesn't get the same shortness of breath and accelerated heart rate she used to. "It's remarkable," says the Portland, Ore., marketing manager, who just started to decrease her dose of Wellbutrin.
To address the growing interest from professionals, Harvard Medical School's Department of Continuing Education will have three classes on complementary and alternative medicine in psychiatry over the next year, up from one a year since the class was introduced in 2003. David Mischoulon, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard, says doctors who have attended the class report that more patients are asking for alternative treatments -- due to the side effects of antidepressants, as well as a lack of response to the medication. Only about half of patients who take antidepressants respond, he says. "It is time to broaden the horizons," he says.
But there is no proof that many of these methods work for treating mental illness. One large study found Emotional Freedom Techniques were no more effective than a placebo, while evidence is limited for acupuncture and fish oil (thought to reduce some types of depression) in the treatment of mental health problems. Using herbal supplements with conventional medicine can be dangerous, psychiatrists say. "There are always snake oil salesmen," says Carolyn Rabinowitz, president of the American Psychiatric Association.
![[Ronald Parks]](http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/WK-AJ637_jp1_SH_20070712164213.jpg) |
| Psychiatrist Ronald Parks combines conventional and alternative medicine. |
Traditional therapists worry that alternative treatments might sway patients to give up conventional treatments too quickly. "People with very little data often say, 'This works,' " says Philip Muskin, Chief of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. A psychiatrist and trained hypnotist, Dr. Muskin believes that wellness techniques like yoga, herbs and acupuncture can make people feel better psychologically. But he says alternative providers don't have adequate training to diagnose or treat severe mental-health disorders. "Many think if you get your liver and spleen into the right balance that will help," he says.
Safety Concerns
In any one-year period, 9.5% of the population, or about 20.9 million American adults, suffer from a mood disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. A study by the World Health Organization, Harvard University School of Public Health and the World Bank found that by the year 2030, depression will be second only to HIV/AIDS in terms of disability caused world-wide.
A backlash against antidepressants sparked by concerns about their safety, efficacy and side effects is helping drive patients to alternative methods. Some 80% of antidepressants are currently prescribed by primary doctors who often diagnose depression in a 20-minute visit and don't provide accompanying therapy or help manage side effects.
Sales of all classes of antidepressants were $13.5 billion in 2006, down from a peak of $13.8 billion in 2004, according to IMS Health, a health-care information company. Usage of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) dropped in 2005 after warnings about side effects -- particularly the risk of suicidal behavior in people aged 25 and under, which prompted the Food and Drug Administration to order drug makers to add warnings to their packaging in 2004. The introduction of generics onto the market (most recently, for Zoloft) also contributed to lower sales.
A spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America says pharmaceuticals like antidepressants undergo a rigorous assessment of benefits and risks by the FDA. Other methods have been used to treat depression historically, he says, but pharmaceuticals do and will continue to play a large role in therapy.
At the same time, the rise of managed care and changes in Medicaid and Medicare have resulted in companies paying far less for mental health coverage. Employer spending on mental health care dropped to 1.3% of an employee's medical care costs in 2006, from 10.9% in 1988, according to employee-benefits firm Towers Perrin. While most employees with health insurance have some mental-health coverage, only 13% have coverage for an unlimited number of outpatient visits to providers such as psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, says a 2006 survey of employers by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That's down from 19% in 2004. Most insurance policies pay for a limited number of visits, often 20 or 30 per year, and some put a cap on the dollars they'll pay.
![[Acupuncture]](http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/WK-AJ665_jp3_SH_20070712175810.jpg)
Over the past decade, insurers have started covering more alternative procedures. Plans vary, from unlimited visits to 12 or 20 visits per year, according to Doug Metz, Chief Health Services Officer at American Specialty Health, which runs complementary medicine benefits plans for insurance companies. Co-payments typically run $10 to $20, and plans limit the reasons for visits to scientifically proven techniques -- which generally does not include treatments for mental health. While coverage for visits to naturopaths is mandated by law in Connecticut, Vermont and Washington, employers can still limit the number of visits and restrict it to a network.
Aetna, for one, will cover acupuncture used to treat migraine headaches or chronic lower back pain, but not for depression; it will cover biofeedback for migraines, but not stress. The options are growing: Starting this month, members can get at least 25% off standard fees for visits to an approved list of 19,000 credentialed "natural therapy professionals," including massage therapists and dietetic counselors, for any condition. (Standard fees for a first-time acupuncturist visit can be $90 to $120.)
The shift comes as scientific research sheds new light on the causes of depression. The use of SSRIs, introduced in the 1980s, aim to increase levels of serotonin in the brain. More recent research suggests that a range of factors -- including genetic predisposition and hormones linked to stress -- can play a role.
Proponents of alternative medicine say the wide range of treatments used address broader causes like hormonal imbalances and stress. Treatment can mean spending time talking to patients about their physical and emotional problems, examining their diet and exercise habits, and doing blood tests to look for medical or environmental causes for depression, such as Lyme disease, toxic chemicals or mold.
In Los Angeles, naturopath Holly Lucille has seen 30% more patients in the past two years whose chief complaint is mental-health-related, while Sara Thyr, a naturopath in Manchester and Concord, N.H., has seen a 20% rise. Margot Longenecker's naturopathy practice in Branford and Wallingford, Conn., now has half of its patients come for anxiety and depression, compared with 25% three years ago.
"Half the time you feel like you have a psychiatric degree more than a chiropractic degree," says Basking Ridge, N.J., chiropractor Jerry Szych, who's seen a 25% rise in patients seeking counseling services over the same period. Columbus, Ohio, chiropractor Ronald Farabaugh says he has seen an increase of 20% over the past three years in those cases.
Melissa Mannon, a 36-year-old photographer in Bedford, N.H., saw psychologists for years about her depression and anxiety. Then she visited a naturopath for help with infertility, and was diagnosed with an intolerance to 90 different foods, including gluten. She changed her diet and within seven months, she got pregnant and most of her anxiety and depression went away, she says. She still sees her naturopath if she's feeling down and to discuss what's happening in her life. "She understands me," says Ms. Mannon.
Some say the extra time and intimacy of the treatments can encourage patients to open up. Naturopath Mark Sanders, who has seen the number of patients coming for mental health rise threefold to about 60% since he started his practice five years ago, says patients tend to open up when he performs craniosacral therapy. (It is meant to ease stress and improve physical movement.) "I've had people tell me stuff they don't tell their therapist," he says.
![[Samantha Brody]](http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/WK-AJ638_jp2_SH_20070712164449.jpg) |
| 'I don't dig into childhood stuff,' says naturopath Samantha Brody. |
Stanford University Medical School clinical professor of medicine Kenneth Pelletier says chiropractors and naturopaths aren't adequately trained to recognize true psychopathology. But Dr. Pelletier believes most of these practitioners are ethical about remaining within the scope of their practice and refer patients to licensed mental-health-care practitioners when they think the diagnoses are severe.
That's what Portland, Ore., naturopath Samantha Brody has been doing as she increasingly sees patients with eating disorders, anxiety and depression. While the stigma of seeing a shrink may have declined in cities like New York and Los Angeles, it is alive and well in Portland, and some patients won't follow up on her referrals. Still, Ms. Brody steers away from serious counseling. "I don't dig into childhood stuff," she says.
Cheryl Higgins started seeing Ms. Brody three years ago for acupuncture because her back hurt. She was also driving her friends crazy by trying to use them as therapists and needed an outlet for her anxiety and depression. "I spilled my guts to her at the first session," says the 26-year-old office manager. Her treatment: chemical and amino-acid supplements, plus acupuncture three times a week.
Ms. Higgins hesitated to follow Ms. Brody's referral to a psychologist, but eventually she did see one who recommended that her primary care doctor put her on an antidepressant. She went on Lexapro for nine months, then went back to the naturopath to help her get off of it. "It made me yawn all the time," she says.
While the research is limited, some studies have shown promise in using alternative methods to treat mental illness. A recent study at Boston University School of Medicine and McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., showed a neurochemical response to the practice of yoga that's similar to neurochemical responses seen when people are treated with antidepressants.
Even pharmaceutical companies are starting to look at ingredients that have traditionally been part of natural medicine. Last year, Novartis bought the U.S. rights to a drug called agomelatine -- a melatonin-related agonist that is thought to influence mood in part through the sleep-wake cycle.
Of course, alternative medicine has been used for mental health issues for years. A 2001 study by Ron Kessler and David Eisenberg at Harvard Medical School found that among those with anxiety and or depression, more than half used alternative medicine therapies; among those who sought the treatment of a licensed conventional provider, two-thirds also used alternative medicine during the prior year. The perceived helpfulness of the alternative therapies was similar to the perceived helpfulness of conventional therapies.
Some critics say the growing interest is, in a sense, a step backwards. As people become frustrated with the shortcomings of new treatments, they become more inclined to try age-old therapies, regardless of whether they've been rigorously tested. The treatment of depression is "a constant succession of hyped theories and overall pathetically little progress," says John Horgan, director of the Center for Science Writings at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.
Serious Applications
Now, community clinics are using the approach. The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, N.H. -- which combines traditional psychiatry with naturopathic treatments for seriously mentally ill patients -- received a two-year grant last summer from the New York-based Ittleson Foundation to promote the intermingling of naturopathy and psychiatry. "It's just a better way to approach the problem," says Ronald Parks, an internist and psychiatrist in Asheville, N.C., who uses alternative methods and was just approached to create a community-based model near his practice.
Aliza Sherman Risdahl agrees. She began experiencing uncontrollable rage, irritation and anxiety after the birth of her daughter. Though the 42-year-old Anchorage, Alaska, consultant was already seeing a therapist, she didn't want to go on antidepressants. She turned to a naturopath, who diagnosed her with overactive adrenal glands and suggested an amino acid to spray under her tongue.
Now she's no longer throwing dirty plates from the dinner table up in the air, screaming at her husband to "give me the baby, you can't keep her from me!" and running through the house slamming doors and cursing at him. "I am so grateful," she says.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
University Probes Payments to Doctors
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New York House passes Doctor Pharma Disclosure Law
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=604015&category=OPINION&newsdate=7/8/2007&TextPage=1
Albany Times Union
Disclosure law would cure conflict
By ROBERT RESTUCCIA
July 8, 2007
The recent scandal surrounding hidden financial ties between student loan companies and colleges highlights how conflicts of interest hurt consumers and damage the public's trust.
In the same way New York took quick action to confront and expose the financial conflicts of interest present in the school loan scandal, the state has the opportunity to take action and expose similar conflicts of interest present in the health care industry through passage of the pharmaceutical gift disclosure bill currently stalled in the state Senate.
The influence of pharmaceutical marketing on health care providers is overwhelming. Each year, drug companies spend $7 billion marketing directly to physicians to sway their prescribing practices through gifts such as company-branded pens and pads, catered lunches, travel, sports tickets and free drug samples. Doctors are also offered financial incentives such as speaking and consulting fees, and paid continuing education courses. Consumers Union estimates that drug companies are giving $40 million to $50 million to doctors each year in New York alone.
Marketing to doctors with gifts works to boost the bottom line of drug companies. The spending on prescription drugs in the United States has more than tripled, and pharmaceutical costs have increased at a rate higher than inflation. The drugs most responsible for rising costs are the ones most heavily marketed and most often prescribed.
But the cost to patients and the public is too great when aggressive marketing campaigns degrade patient care and raise the costs of health care by leading doctors to prescribe newer, less-tested drugs over cheaper generics or similar drugs proven most effective for a patient's needs.
To ensure that doctors are prescribing drugs based on science and not marketing, the financial ties between doctors and pharmaceutical companies must be eliminated, and disclosure laws, like the one being considered in New York, are a crucial first step.
The disclosure bill that was passed by the Assembly would mandate the reporting of gifts from pharmaceutical companies to doctors that are more than $75 in value and would be more stringent than laws in other states by instituting penalties for noncompliance and not allowing pharmaceutical companies to designate gifts as "trade secrets."
By passing the bill, New York would be in step with a growing number of states that are using the law to combat the sway the drug industry has on doctors by banning the sale of doctor prescribing information for marketing purposes, creating industry-free education programs on prescription drugs and mandating gift disclosure that would allow the public to see the potential conflicts of interest doctors have with pharmaceutical companies.
Disclosure laws in Minnesota and Vermont have proven to be powerful tools in exposing the harmful side effects caused by hidden financial ties between doctors and pharmaceutical companies.
In Minnesota, the press used data from that state's disclosure law and found that the prescribing of a powerful antipsychotic drug was three times higher among physicians who received more than $5,000 annually in gifts and other payments from the manufacturer.
The Vermont attorney general recently released data resulting from the state's disclosure law that showed pharmaceutical companies spending $2.25 million in gifts, fees and other expenses in one year alone to market their drugs to doctors in a small state. These problems are not unique to Minnesota or Vermont, but we know about them because of a law similar to the one being proposed for New York.
Patients have a right to know if a physician has a conflict of interest before putting their lives into that doctor's hands. They also have the right to high quality, affordable health care free from the influence of pharmaceutical marketing. The Senate still has time to take action on the pharmaceutical gift disclosure bill that will allow New York to continue to protect consumers by making transparent the hidden financial ties between doctors and the pharmaceutical industry.
Robert Restuccia is executive director of The Prescription Project, a national initiative funded by Pew Charitable Trusts (http://www.prescriptionproject.org).
Oregon to sue Lilly over Zyprexa?
Just two years after spending $690 million to settle private class-action lawsuit, state attorneys- general are gearing up to file a Big Tobacco-style class action lawsuit against Lilly and its blockbuster mental-illness drug Zyprexa, a blogsite posting reported Wednesday.
Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers joined a group of "leadership states" earlier this year aimed at filing a Multi-State class action lawsuit, according to blogger Philip Dawdy. His site - Furious Seasons - tracks the mental-health pharmaceutical sector.
Eight different state AGs already have filed suit against Eli Lilly for so-called "off-label marketing" (touting its unapproved use) of Zyprexa, LNL reported in May. The suits also allege Lilly concurrently downplayed Zyprexa side-effect like higher diabetes risk.
Utah, Pennsylvania and Montana have all filed such suits so far in 2007, joining Louisiana, Virginia, Mississippi and Alaska from 2006. All are seeking resitituion to their Medicaid and/or Medicare programs.
A representative from Myers' office confirmed Tuesday that Oregon "is part of the leadership states (Executive Committee) for a multi-state case concerning Eli Lilly and Zyprexa", Dawdy reported. Myers would use in-house staff rather than private lawyers as Montana recently did, the official added.
Just over two years ago, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly announced it had paid around $690 million to settle claims, including class-action lawsuits, over claims it minimized Zyprexa's side-effects. But Lilly also warned it would fight other legal claims against Zyprexa.
"Claimants who are not covered by the final settlement are those represented by attorneys who are not participating in the agreement in principle," the staement warned. "Lilly is prepared to continue its vigorous defense of Zyprexa in the remaining cases.
But a multi-state class action suit led by state attorneys-general could be a whole other ball of wax, as cigarette companies discovered in late nineties. Especially cases led by "aggressive" AGs like Myers, Dawdy's posting noted.
Canada - "Get psychiatry out of child welfare"
http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-7-12/57563.html
Epoch Times
Overmedication of Children 'Troubling,' Say Experts
Psychotropic drugs particularly overused for kids in group homes
By Cindy Chan
Jul 12, 2007
Experts are warning that rising numbers of Canadian children are being over-medicated with psychotropic drugs.
Vulnerable kids under the care of children's aid societies are being given too many psychotropics, with those in group homes being over-medicated the most.
Documents recently obtained by the Globe and Mail under Ontario's Freedom of Information Act revealed that in a random sample of five Ontario children's aid societies, 47 percent of the children were prescribed psychotropics last year for a range of mental health diagnoses, including depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The Globe article reported that this number is more than triple the rate of drug prescriptions for psychiatric problems among children in the general population.
The article said that last year prescriptions for antidepressants, including Ritalin—widely prescribed to children to treat ADHD—rose more than 47 per cent to 1.87 million. In addition, prescriptions for a new generation of antipsychotic drugs increasingly being used on children almost doubled, rising to 8.7 million.
Dr. Marty McKay, a clinical psychologist who has consulted for children's aid societies across south-western Ontario for 31 years, cites even more alarming figures. The 47 percent rate of psychotropics used refers to all children in Crown care, including foster homes and group homes, but "if you look only at the group homes, it's about 90 per cent, in my experience."
'Drug Cocktails'
McKay brought this to public attention last year after working with a patient, a now-13-year-old boy, who was prescribed a "drug cocktail" of three psychotropic drugs while living in a group home near Toronto.
"He had eight diagnoses but has none of those disorders," she said.
The World Health Organization defines psychotropic drugs as "a loosely defined grouping of drugs that have effects on psychological function." They include antidepressants, tranquilizers, antipsychotics, and anti-anxiety drugs.
In a "very troubling" finding, McKay said large numbers of group home children are being prescribed not just one psychotropic but cocktails of usually about three different drugs, many of them not authorized for use in children.
She says it's unreasonable to believe so many of these children would have so many different psychiatric diagnoses.
Some of the disorders are actually the result of the drug itself, she said. For example, a child usually receives a first diagnosis of ADHD and is given Ritalin. If ineffective, the dosage is increased, leading to motor ticks, a known side effect of the drug. Instead of reducing the dosage, the child is then diagnosed with a further disorder of Tourette's syndrome and given another drug.
McKay believes these children are not psychotic but are victims of neglect or abuse, whose anger or agitation are normal responses. She called the drugs "chemical straitjackets" and a "gross violation of children's human rights."
"It's like turning [children] into zombies" since the drugs are "basically lobotomizing agents," said McKay. "It constitutes criminal assault to forcibly give them these drugs that have such a devastating effect on their brain chemistry and learning ability."
Studies show long-term results of risk for diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, central nervous system disorder, Parkinsonism, and liver, kidney, pancreas, and other organ damage, she said.
Group Homes
In group homes, the children's aid workers signing consents often lack training and knowledge, said McKay. Burdened with high caseloads, they might only see a particular child once a month.
Instead of doing a thorough assessment, psychiatrists often prescribe based on group home workers' descriptions of behaviour, or checklists filled out by a teacher or parent. The children typically are not given the right to protest or a chance to refuse treatment.
Many group homes are often private, for-profit businesses where the workers are not well educated and lack training to be able to recognize drug side effects. Although the homes are provincially regulated, the regulations only cover a few aspects, and hiring practices is not one of them, said McKay.
This is reiterated in report released last week by Ontario's Chief Child Advocate Judy Finlay on the quality of care of three children's aid societies.
"Typically, staff in group care are young, poorly paid with limited training and insufficient supervision. They often lack the professional qualifications, experience, and judgement required to assume the task of managing the range of behaviours and circumstances in group care."
General Population
While the situation in group homes and child welfare is severe, a new study is prompting urgent concern about widespread overmedication among Canadian children in general.
According to research published in this June's issue of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, of 212 survey respondents, 94 per cent of 176 child psychiatrists and 89 per cent of 36 developmental paediatricians across Canada are prescribing atypical antipsychotics to patients under 18 for diagnoses that included psychotic, mood, anxiety, and behaviour disorders.
Although the researchers said that these drugs are not approved for use in children, of all the prescriptions, 12 per cent went to children under nine, including some as young as three.
"These medications are currently being used off-label without clear guidelines for indications, dosing, and monitoring," noted the report, saying there is "an urgent need for more data regarding safety and monitoring of these medications in children."
McKay said filing a complaint with the college of physicians doesn't achieve anything, as the college will contact one of its "so-called experts" who will say prescribing those drugs is "standard of practice." Thus the prescribing physician is not disciplined, even if the patient suffers from the drugs he is given for disorders he did not have.
Kathryn Clarke of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons explained that the college itself does not develop standards or guidelines about treatments and monitoring but relies on experts within the medical profession.
As for Health Canada, spokesperson Carole Saindon says that as the federal regulator, her department approves drugs for safety and efficacy and ensures as many indications on the label as possible. Beyond that, prescribing practices are in the hands of physicians and other health care providers.
Counseling, 'Kinship Settings'
The National Youth in Care Network, an advocacy group for youth in Crown care, says medication, often seen as a "quicker, easier, and cheaper alternative" and a means of controlling behaviour and enforcing compliance, should not be the sole focus of interventions.
In a report published in 2006, the network calls for informed consent, access to counselling and other mental health services, and a regulatory body to oversee all agencies involved in the use of chemical restraints for these youth.
McKay said she would like to see group homes essentially eliminated and foster placement emphasized, particularly "kinship settings" with grandparents and extended family members. Moreover, she urged increasing budgets for counselling, psychotherapy, and cognitive behavioural therapy to teach kids how to cope with feelings of anger, hurt, and frustration.
Canada is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, she said, yet it is not living up to that commitment.
"Get psychiatry out of child welfare," said McKay. "Child welfare, especially group homes, should not be like miniature mental institutions for children."
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Nevada TeenScreen Pusher Faces Ethics Charges
EdWatch Nevada
Ethics to hold formal hearing against former State Board of Education member Gary Waters
July 11, 2007
by Joe Enge
As reported by Samantha Stone with KOH Radio this morning, 2 of the 4 charges Joe Enge with EdWatch Nevada filed against state board member Gary Waters in June of 2006 in trying to implement TeenScreen have been upheld to warrant a formal hearing with the Nevada Commission on Ethics in September. Waters is no longer a board member, his final term ended in December of 2006. Waters set up The Center for Health & Learning as a non-profit to implement TeenScreen. I questioned whether it is legal for a state board member to set up a non-profit and use Nevada Department of Education equipment and office.
TeenScreen is a highly controversial mental health screen that asserts it can identify students from the 5th to 12th grades who are suicidal. Critics nationally point out TeenScreen does more harm than good with their self-admitted 84% rate of false positives and makes end runs around the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment without obtaining proper, positive consent from parents. You can read details about TeenScreen on my former EdWatch Nevada Web site at: www.campaignsitebuilder.com/templates/displayfiles1/Tmpl34.asp?id=19383.
Also available at www.edwatchnevada.com is one of the actual TeenScreen exams. Much to their chagrin, TeenScreen’s “super secret” exam is now public. The exam is listed under the heading of “Downloads.”
The two charges for setting up the non-profit were dropped. The Nevada Commission on Ethics came to the conclusion that it is legal for a non-profit, set up by a Nevada State Board of Education member, to use government equipment and offices. What’s legal is not always what’s right. I questioned also how this could be done without formal State Board of Education approval. They concluded the State Superintendent of Instruction, Keith Rheault, could do this on his own authority. They also concluded Waters did not make any money. $71,000 was awarded to the Center for Health & Learning, but he did not receive any of it.
My information shows Waters intended to start collecting money from a far larger federal grant of $1.2 million after he left office in December of 2006, the very reason he set up the non-profit. I suspect the publicity and scrutiny of my filing these Ethics charges in June of 2006 threw a monkey wrench into those plans. The federal $1.2 million grant has a table on page 29 showing a list of staff who will participate in the project with their role and level of effort. Waters is listed as director of the Center for Health & Learning and 100% FTE (full time equivalent). The center is also listed as a sub-grantee for funding. He can’t be convicted of his intentions once out of office since he was forced by these charges not to carry it out.
The Nevada Commission of Ethics did find just and sufficient cause exists to hold a hearing and render an opinion regarding whether Waters did not properly disclose his commitment, interests, or business relationship at the March, April, and June 2006 Nevada State Board of Education meetings at the time proposed standards for supplemental mental health and suicide were discussed, violating {NRS 281.501 (4)}. They also found just and sufficient cause exists to hear whether Waters acting on the same issues at these meetings violated {NRS 281.501 (2)}. The Nevada Commission on Ethics is scheduled to hear this matter on September 12, 2007 in Las Vegas at the Grant Sawyer State Building, room 4401.
Given it is legal in Nevada for non-profits to use government equipment and facilities, I think I will request an office in the Nevada Department of Education building in Carson City on behalf of EdWatch Nevada to better oversee their activities. I wonder what their reply will be.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Know any kids that took Paxil? Their parents can get a refund
Paxil Settlement On… You Tube;
July 10th, 2007
By Ed Silverman
In an unusual move, the Public Citizen advocacy group has posted a video on YouTube to alert parents to a $48 million settlement of a lawsuit concerning Glaxo’s Paxil antidepressant and side effects. The drugmaker was required to announce the settlement terms last October, but wasn’t to publicize that the terms were improved and simplified in April, the group notes.
Even without receipts, parents can recover up to $100, but any money that isn’t claimed prior to the August 31, 2007, deadline will revert back to Glaxo. Although it’s not clear, Public Citizen may be correct in noting this is the first time such a class-action settlement uses YouTube to publicize terms.
The video, which is just a minute and a half, resembles a public service announcment read by a news anchor, who says: “Now, $48 million is sitting in a fund waiting to pay back parents whose children were on Paxil before their 18th birthday.” You can visit www.paxilpayback.org
- See here: www.paxilpayback.org
- You are entitled to this money if:
- • you live in the U.S. and
- • you purchased Paxil or Paxil CR for someone under the age of 18.
If you qualify, you MUST fill out a claim form and mail it to the Paxil Pediatric Settlement Administrator in order to receive compensation. The claims must be received by August 31, 2007.
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