Medicine: TV-Autism Smackdown/CounterSmackdown

So Time GOES OFF on the TV-autism study from last week, making a handful of excellent points mostly about the way that the media (statisticians and research scientists) make improper derivations from correlational studies. It is notable to say that the study hasn't actually been published yet, but these quotes are from press releases and the such:

"Approximately 17% of the growth in autism in California and Pennsylvania during the 1970s and 1980s was due to the growth of cable television," and "just under 40% of autism diagnoses in the three states studied is the result of television watching due to precipitation."

Result of? Due to? How can these researchers suggest causality when no actual TV watching was ever measured? "The standard interpretation of this type of analysis is that this is cause and effect," Waldman insists, adding that the 67-page study has been read by "half a dozen topnotch health economists."

Could there be something to this strange piece of statistical derring-do? It's not impossible, but it would take a lot more research to tease out its true significance. Meanwhile, it's hard to say just what these correlations measure. "You have to be very definitive about what you are looking at," says Vanderbilt University geneticist Pat Levitt. "How do you know, for instance, that it's not mold or mildew in the counties that have a lot of rain?" How do you know, for that matter, that as counties get more cable access, they don't also get more pediatricians scanning for autism?

Sure, and Wallis does make some good argument that going Freakonomic on health care statistics leads us all to use language that we can't use. We can't say that TV causes autism, but we can say they are very associated. In the case of this correlation, it seems most likely that a confounder affecting both variables probably gives us the R-squared, the "caused-by" variable, that we're seeing. Or maybe it's TV. Who knows.

But we have to give props to Gregg Easterbrook for SLAMMING Wallis and Time for what he thinks is absurd scientific idealism. Short enough to post in full:

This article is awfully casual about accusing others of "irresponsibility." It is common for ideas in research to begin with incomplete statistical observations that inspire National Science Foundation- or Institutes of Medicine-sanctioned studies to prove or disprove the underlying larger claim. The sort of research TIME takes two Cornell University professors to task for not having already conducted at their own expense would require millions of dollars for a very complex multi-year home-monitoring study with hundreds of families in the study group allowing two-way recording devices throughout their homes and hundreds more in the control group.

A correlation found during initial research is exactly the sort of event that triggers funding for such major studies. TIME declaring that a statistician who finds a clue should not publish unless he can offer definitive proof is like saying an astronomer who discovers a star should not reveal its location unless he can prove the origin of the universe. And suppose this theory of autism turns out to be true. Should those with suspicions remain silent, offering no caution to parents of young children?

At any rate, since TIME sees fit to accuse others of irresponsibility, it would have been nice if TIME's article had disclosed that its corporate parent has a financial interest in denouncing this research. TIME is owned by the same company that owns Time Warner Cable, a leading cable television carrier, and owns Cartoon Network, which is marketed to young children.

Ouch. I'm bleeding after reading that.

So let's blame who we should blame: the folks who publish "TV causes autism" crap all over their headlines to drive traffic to their sites, to sell newspapers, and even, oddly enough, boost ratings. The Cornell study might need an editor to throw in some subjunctive verbs. But this army of media douchebags who couldn't properly interpret a medical study if their Blackberrys depended on it need some good old fashioned Cuckoo's Nest-style ECT (before the widespread use of neuromuscular blockers that has made the procedure perfectly uneventful to watch).

Medicine: preschoolers on Ritalin, and how the media doesn't know what to do with them

So this headline about a study published in JAACAP last week on the safety and benefits of prescribing methylphenidate to kids under 6 has pretty much been taken every which way. Joe Yaroch at Corpus Callosum beat me to this post, but I might have a few more things to add. Dr Y points out two versions of the headline he ran across:

Meds Help Preschoolers with ADHD
Psych Central News Editor
Tuesday, Oct, 17, 2006

Study warns of risks of preschool Ritalin
Associated Press
Posted on Fri, Oct. 20, 2006

WTF? Now, one might simply look at the source of the article and say that Psych Central might have a vested interest in spinning the study positively. But as Dr Y notes, these headlines are both right. They're also entirely unsurprising and absolutely vanilla. This study simply wasn't that newsworthy, and doesn't say anything more than "ritalin helps clinically hyperactive kids under 6, and you gotta be careful giving it to them and watch them closely." No shit, AP.

But that's not my favorite part of the CNN article. This is:

"This is a catastrophe. It just opens up the way for drugging the younger kids," said Dr. Peter Breggin, a New York psychiatrist and longtime critic of psychiatric drug use in children.

Breggin said the research is part of a marketing push by the drug industry to expand drug use to the youngest children.

A New York psychiatrist. As if that is ALL Peter Breggin is. Breggin has made a career out of being anti-psychiatry. He doesn't use meds. He bitches about his little conspiracy theories and is generally a fairly annoying douche. He takes a reasonable message, which is "be careful with these crazy meds," and turns it into prosetylizing assholery, like "meds are bad, you are bad if you give meds, you are bad if you take meds, bwahahahaha!"

Now, is this study even CLOSE to the final word on giving kids under the age of 6 methylphenidate? Of COURSE not. I'm all for stern critique of giving kids with developing nervous systems a potentially neurotoxic chemical, especially when preschoolers don't really have such a great need to sit still until they get into graded school. But I'm even less for popular anti-psychiatry "the drug companies are trying to turn us into capital robots" conspiracy theory.

Colbert Report: Cooking With Feminists & Ice Cream 3-Ways

LGBT: Boycott a blood drive?

A group of students in Milford, CT are boycotting a blood drive to protest a national law preventing men who've had sex with men to donate blood. The law currently states that any male who's had sexual contact with another male, even once, since the mid 1970's is banned from givving blood. On a national level, the Red Cross would like to change the policy... but something tells me that the current atmosphere in Washinton, DC is not quite ammenable to such a discussion at this time :)

As much as this pains me, I still don't believe it's ok to lie to the questioners when you go to give blood. So I guess I'll just sit on the sidelines and wait for our lawmakers to find some better sense... I may be waiting a long time!

Books: Is It Just Me

... or is Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat the worst-written nonfiction book to sell more than 200 copies ever?

I'm only on chapter two, but I feel like advanced middle-schoolers could fact check this guy, and raise the stock of red ink. And it's nice to make things simple for people, but simplicity at the expense of sense doesn't seem worth much.

I have a thing about finishing books I start, so I'm stuck reading this turd. Pity me, please. Or at least tell me why this book doesn't suck.

Politics: My frontrunner pulls out

Democrat Mark R. Warner, the former governor of Virginia, has decided not to run for president in 2008, fearing the impact of a drawn-out campaign on his family. "I want to have a real life," he said.

Warner scheduled a late morning news conference in Richmond to make the announcement. In a written statement, he said he made the decision after celebrating his father's 81st birthday and taking his oldest daughter, Madison, on a college tour.

"I know these moments are never going to come again," Warner said. "This weekend made clear what I'd been thinking about for many weeks -- that while politically this appears to be the right time for me to take the plunge, at this point I want to have a real life.

"And while the chance may never come again, I shouldn't move forward unless I'm willing to put everything else in my life on the back burner," he said.

I admit I'd be very interested to see if this "want to have a real life" explanation is really Warner's #1 motivation. But if so, can't blame the guy for being a decent human being.

Bill Richardson and Evan Bayh are still in the pipeline, and Bayh is CERTAINLY running. Daniel at KyDem would be out of a job if Bayh withdrew, so I think he'd make Bayh run at knife-point if necessary.

But then that'd see us with possibly a Jew-vs-Mormon election. Much better than the Hillary-McCain battle forecasted.

I'm not ready for presidential elections yet.

Medicine: LSD treatment for alcoholism?

Cool stuff:

For the past five years, Dr. Erika Dyck has been unearthing some intriguing facts related to a group of pioneering psychiatrists who worked in Saskatchewan, Canada in the '50s and '60s.

Among other things, the University of Alberta history of medicine professor has found records of the psychiatrists' research that indicate a single dose of the hallucinogenic drug LSD, provided in a clinical, nurturing environment, can be an effective treatment for alcoholism.

Her findings are published this month in the journal Social History of Medicine.

After perceiving similarities in the experiences of people on LSD and people going through delirium tremens, the psychiatrists undertook a series of experiments. They noted that delirium tremens, also know as DTs, often marked a "rock bottom" or turning point in the behavior of alcoholics, and they felt LSD may be able to trigger such a turnaround without engendering the painful physical effects associated with DTs.

As it turns out, they were largely correct.

Medicine: Genentech (expensive) vs Genentech (cheap)?

Finally, anyone with an even mild interest in health management and policy should be following Genentech's new drug for macular degeneration. So Genentech dumped tons of money into making a new drug for that purpose, and a zillion dollars later, come up with Lucentis, a monoclonal antibody that will cost about 2000 bucks per dose and require monthly dosing. The only problem is that, while developing Lucentis, folks started wondering if one of Genentech's other drugs, Avastin, from which Lucentis is derived, might be helpful in its own right.
Avastin is a cancer drug which inhibits tumor angiogenesis. You can guess what happened next:

Before Lucentis was approved, as doctors started hearing the results of its clinical trials, many retina specialists began using Genentech’s cancer drug Avastin off-label as an eye treatment, at a cost of $20 to $100 a dose.

Both Avastin and Lucentis work in a similar way, and some eye doctors say they believe Avastin is equally as effective. However Avastin has not been tested in rigorous clinical trials as Lucentis has. So interest has been growing for a trial to compare the drugs.

This case demonstrates why having a prescription drug plan attached to Medicare might have some tremendous upside, in that the federal government now has a vested interest in controlling drug costs which will indubitably be in conflict with the interests of pharma and biotech firms. And that's something new, because the government doesn't really do ANYTHING to get in the way of pharma and biotech firms, besides making sure they don't directly poison the population. Incentives for innovation are good, but making profits with bad innovation (such as when you spend a zillion dollars developing a new drug for a new indication when one of your own damn proprietary products treats the disorder already) shouldn't be encouraged. Science depends on serendipity, and this time, serendipity bit Genentech in the ass. Don't feel bad, serendipity has made Genentech zillions of dollars in the past.

And just imagine, that Genentech wasn't interested in funding this research itself! It's wonderful to see NIH taking a role researching A) off-label usages of already approved drugs (generally left to the drug companies, who will only do so when having approval helps their profit margins, not when medicine needs further information), and B) trying to contain costs for a drug of prime interest to the Medicare population.

Medicine: News Roundup

The CDC is funding the biggest ever study of autism, including 2700 kids, to try to hash out genetic and environmental aspects of the disorder. But conspiracy theory dumbasses still abound:

But some parents of autistic children say the CDC — which promotes childhood vaccinations — is not interested in fully exploring vaccinations as a potential cause.

“We don’t want the CDC to do anything. We don’t trust them,” said Wendy Fournier, president of the National Autism Association.

Also on the autism front, Risperdal now has FDA approval for treatment of aggression and other positive symptoms in autism. Atypical antipsychotics have been used for years off-label for such indications, but now physicians and insurance companies will feel legally obligated to choose risperidone over quetiapine or other atypicals, which are probably just as effective.

Unsurprisingly, Children with ADHD use significantly more health services 2 years before and 2 years after they are diagnosed compared with children without ADHD. Even less surprising:

Despite similar insurance status, Asian American, African American and Hispanic American children had $221 lower total average costs per year related to ADHD than white American children did. They also had lower ADHD-related pharmacy costs than white American children.

"Lower use of medications among ethnic minorities may be explained in part by cultural differences in the acceptance of ADHD diagnoses and treatment," the authors suggest.

People with IBS are much more likely to have depression, migraines, and fibromyalgia. Grumpy physicians would probably say that whiny people have whiny people diseases. Sparky says those physicians should be drug out and shot in the back yard. Even so, this study furthers theories that a single sort of neurobiological error might account for these, and several other, disorders. I would be that epilepsy and bipolar disorder would also be found to be elevated, but that's my neurobiological conspiracy theory.

Compared with non-IBS patients, those with the condition were 60 percent more likely to also have any one of the three disorders, the report indicates. The elevated risks for depression, migraine, and fibromyalgia were 40 percent, 60 percent, and 80 percent, respectively.

MedPol: Ali endorses Granholm over stem cell policy fight

I have to appreciate another Kentuckian supporting Granholm for Michigan governor. Michigan has some of the most restrictive stem cell policies in the nation.

State law does not permit Michigan researchers to get embryos left over from fertility treatments in the state.

State scientists can use embryonic stem cell lines from California, Illinois or other states with less restrictive laws, but those lines sometimes are patented by other researchers.

In Monday’s first gubernatorial debate, Republican Dick DeVos said he is against embryonic stem cell research but supports research using adult stem cells.

Opponents say embryonic stem cell research destroys human life, one reason President Bush earlier this year vetoed federal legislation expanding federal funding of such research.

Granholm supports legislation being sponsored by state Rep. Andy Meisner, D-Ferndale, that would allow more embryonic stem cell research in Michigan, and has asked citizens to voice their support for easing restrictions on such research in Michigan by signing an online petition.

Ali’s endorsement enabled Granholm to make a point of her support in her campaign against DeVos. Observers said she’s more likely than DeVos to benefit from raising the issue.

“The Granholm camp can start painting a picture of him as an out-of-synch true-believer,” said Craig Ruff of Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants.

“A plurality of voters support the Granholm position,” said Ed Sarpolus of the Lansing-based polling company EPIC-MRA. “She’s looking for those on-the-fence voters” whose decision doesn’t hinge on the economy.

Ali suffers from Dementia Pugilistica, a fancy name for a Parkinson's-like disease developed after getting bashed upside the head for way too many years.

PC Comics: Garfield has gone too far

While reading my comics I was rather annoyed by this one, and not just because Garfield tends to be kind of pointless and annoying (except for those clever lasagna jokes). I see that Jon is referring to the "juice harp" in the final pane. I had always thought it was a Jew's harp, and Wikipedia backs me up on this. Saying that though it has no particular semitic connection, the common term is Jew's Harp and people have taken to using the terms jaw harp, juice harp, English trump, and guimbard to avoid controversy. This seems stupid. I'm all for respecting other races/religions/etc by avoiding pejorative terms (thus I don't use the term Negro, and find Phoenix's Squaw Peak to be offensive, and try to never "Jew down" anyone on prices), but we go too far when we take non-offensive phrases and remove any possible racial/ethnic reference to make them politically correct (e.g. cross legged instead of indian style). That's just gay.

Light from the Heart Nebula
Credit & Copyright: Matt Russell

Politics: Mark Foley Jokes!

"Former Florida Congressman Mark Foley has resigned over allegations he sent explicit emails to underage boys. What is it with Congress? If they’re not grabbing your wallet, they’re grabbing your ass." –Jay Leno

"How about that Florida congressman Mark Foley? Whoa. At least the Democrats wait until the interns are 18." –David Letterman

“The Republicans reacted quickly. They transferred Foley to a different parish." –David Letterman

"So basically Pages are brought down there to perform sexual exploits for legislators?" –Jon Stewart
“No, that’s what the interns are for. Pages are just the aphrodisiacs, set the mood, get them primed. They’re the Fluffers of Liberty.” –Samantha Bee

Don't worry, there's more.

Politics: Thoughtful Republican Leadership

Is Trent Lott stupid, lazy, or both?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush barely mentioned the war in Iraq when he met with Republican senators behind closed doors in the Capitol Thursday morning and was not asked about the course of the war, Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, said.

"No, none of that," Lott told reporters after the session when asked if the Iraq war was discussed. "You're the only ones who obsess on that. We don't and the real people out in the real world don't for the most part."

Lott went on to say he has difficulty understanding the motivations behind the violence in Iraq.

"It's hard for Americans, all of us, including me, to understand what's wrong with these people," he said. "Why do they kill people of other religions because of religion? Why do they hate the Israelis and despise their right to exist? Why do they hate each other? Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me."

I'd tell you what I think about this, but it should be obvious...

Technorati Tags: trent lott, iraq

Medicine: Trojan judges access to sexual health information on college campuses

Those horndogs at Yale top the list, followed by those horndogs at... umm... Iowa? UofM and Stanford share second place with Iowa. As I've blogged before, UofM and Stanford can't ever be far away from each other in just about any ranking, even in the sex survey. UK came in at an acceptable 28th, still scoring a 2.4/4.

The study examines a number of sexual health outcomes, including availability of condoms, contraception, STD testing, sexual assault services, and outreach programs.

Complete Rankings.

All that really matters

A2: Never going back

So, after the latest in a series of extremely frustrating experiences with the dollar movie theater in Ann Arbor at the Briarwood Mall, Courtney has vowed that we will never set foot in the place again.

Among the biggest complaints include the bathrooms being not fit for the third world, and the employees that work there generally being either obviously lazy, incompetent, or just flat out rude.

For example, once an employee basically dumped half of an ICEE on all over me and the counter, and just sort of laughed and left me to clean it up. She had overfilled it ridiculously, and as soon as I tried to pick it up, red sugar water went flying. That was months ago, after I'd waited in line for about twenty minutes because only one employee was working at the combined concession stand/ticketbooth, while another employee sat beside that employee telling her about how big of an ass her boyfriend was while a line of fifteen people waited for popcorn. Never mind maybe opening up a second register.

I won't detail yesterday's event, because I'd probably pop a blood vessel describing it. Or Courtney would hit something reading it over my shoulder. GRRR!!!

I love cheap movie theaters. But I don't like incompetent businesses, and I'd rather not support the incompetency of the Briarwood Dollar Movies or the pieces of shit that they've hired to work there.

Jesus Hates Online Gaming, Part I

In an attempt to placate a shadow constituency, Capitol Hill scumbags tacked on a self-serving online gambling ban to a port security bill that passed Friday night. Silly since, in reality, this issue is not even at the top of the extreme Christian right agenda (the only group of simpletons who could be pushing for such a ban).

This measure essentially makes it illegal for financial institutions to transfer money to internet gaming sites. Actually, this is funny since major credit card companies stopped transferring into gaming sites several years ago by their own decision. The perceived outcome from the gaming community is that the seasoned online gambler will not be too troubled, but that the casual player (read "dead money") will cower away. This is not an unreasonable assumption given our uncanny ability to lay down to scare tactics.

The bill has several carve outs for certain types of gambling including horse betting. That makes sense though, because the Bible says betting is ok as long as you bet on animals. I think this begs the question, "What would Jesus ban next?" And I'm crossing my fingers that the answer is Starbucks.

LGBT: Out of state couple to wed in Mass

A Mass. supreme court justice has just ruled that two women from Rhode Island can get married in Mass. because their state does not have laws preventing same-sex legal unions. This could be a another important step toward spreading the legal right of marriage to those who live outside Mass. Of course it doesn't help us here in MI (thanks Prop 2), but if it helps someone, I'm all for it!

Not your cousin's microbrew

Salon has an interesting story on the Taybeh brewing company. This West Bank microbrew seems to be uniting Palestinians and Israeli's on both sides of the border. But the story of the business is typically Mid-East

They opened the brewery with the blessing of then Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, whose picture still adorns the buildings of the Fatah-run council in Taybeh. To ensure sales in Israel, the Khourys obtained a kosher certificate for the beer from the rabbi at the neighbouring Jewish settlement of Ofra (with which relations cannot otherwise be described as very good).

And now, with the rise of Hamas they are considering a non-alcoholic beer with a green Hamas label. It's free enterprise, it's beer, it's a beautiful thing.

"We don't have a country yet," he added, "but we have our own beer."

Health: A Trans Fat Free Dining Experience

NYC is proposing a prohibition on Trans Fats in its 24,000+ resturaunts and fast food joints. This could be a HUGE step into government regulation of food health. Why the physician in me applauds this potential move, the french fry lover in me is a bit more cautious. I agree we need to find healthier alternatives to fast food and maybe it'll take a bold statement like this to get it done - but I'm just concerned that such an imposing law could set a precident for other similar laws that may be seen as "out of bounds." Only time will tell!!

LGBT: Being a gay frat brother

Here is a very interesting article about one man's experience coming out while in a fraternity at Yale. Somehow situations like this have a way of working themselves out for the best.

Medicine: Luxury Child Psych Care: Value or Class Privilege?

NPR covers the story of Amy, a 16-year old rich kid who was severely depressed. Amy, fragile in her middle-upper class menagerie, couldn't handle what sounds like a pretty dungeonesque child psych wing of a general hospital. Her rich parents found Sheppard Pratt's Overlook program. Overlook is $1700/ day, and doesn't take insurance, because, well, insurance won't pay $1700/day for psychiatric care.

My gut reaction, which isn't my final reaction, is a general a resounding WTF?!?! What business does an academic medical center have creating psychiatric hotels? Why is an academic medical center filling a luxury-care market niche? Why does Amy get to be "Amy times ten," as she says, while kid in the ghetto can't even be "Kid in the Ghetto times one."?

But class-warfare Sparky loses out to cost-efficiency Sparky every time:

Psychiatrist Vaeth doesn't have the data, but he thinks Overlook could prove cheaper than multiple short-term stays at other hospitals, and that insurers might learn from some of Overlook's approaches.

"If this program flourishes and does well and people say, 'Wow, if you have $1,700 a day, you will do well psychiatrically,' then why couldn't we develop a similar program but maybe scaled down to $1,000 a day?

That's closer to what insurance companies might be willing to pay.

Right now, Overlook is half full, and some other hospitals are considering luxury care, such as the Harvard-affiliated MacLean, which already offers an intensive therapy program. That program has fewer amenities like private rooms, but it is sometimes covered by insurance.

Amy left Overlook after four months, at a cost of about $200,000. Her aunt says her niece has gained enormous perspective and strength. Amy thinks so, too.

I admit that I'm not particularly going into child psychiatry to treat the children of parents who can afford 200k out of pocket hospital expenses and not launch the entire family into a deep, dark depression (which isn't to say I wouldn't happily treat them, or that I wouldn't accept out of pocket payment!). For 200k, I bet I could gain enormous perspective and strength too.

But Vaeth has a point that I can't even start to deny, which is that luxury psychiatric care (or at least a lot nicer than the white-walled dungeon Amy describes in the audio clip) might very well be a lot cheaper to the system if it allows a child to be accurately diagnosed and started on a treatment plan that will allow them to avoid multiple hospitalizations (and lost childhood to mental illness) in the future.

So, let's get NIMH to fund a study where poor kids can go to Overlook as well. Let's follow them for a few years, and let's find out if it pays for itself, or not. If not, let's at least leave the mint-on-pillow approach to the private sector.

Public Health: HIV tests for everyone?

The USCDCP has announced plans to encourage widespread HIV testing, just like we have widespread cholesterol screening and pap smears. I think this is a great plan. It will help to identify those who are infected and don't know it while also working to remove some of the stigma associated with getting tested for fear of getting a positive result. They key is to identify those who need treatment and get them on a cocktail before they can unknowingly infect some one else.

Your thoughts?

Medicine: Stanford behind again, gets coastal bonus points for banning freebies

I'm not sure why Stanford and UofM seem so intimately linked in so many ways. Both are perennial low top-10s that steeplechase each other based on who can lobby U.S. News the hardest to change the formula to benefit them. Our deans have been seemingly buddy-buddy on a variety of issues. They're both in uber-rich snotty liberal college towns. And now, just now, they both have a ban on freebies from drug companies.

The difference? Stanford's is new. WTF? How does Stanford get a headline for doing something that many other sensical academic medical centers figured out a long time ago? Yale and UPenn are mentioned just over the past few years as well. How about some love for the Marxists in Ann Arbor?!?!

Medicine: do we really need another SSRI for PE?

Johnson and Johnson and Ortho-McNeil think so, and are, of course, wrong money-grubbing ass-tards.

We know SSRIs delay ejaculation (and suppress libido). We know that SSRIs plus Viagra help premature ejaculation. SSRIs aren't amazingly benign drugs to take, but PE isn't necessarily a very benign condition for psychosexual well-being which is probably vastly underestimated in its importance in the mental health of a variety of populations.

Dapoxetine is theoretically short-acting, but its side effect profile doesn't look different from any other SSRI. The shameless dapoxetine business website goes to great lengths to classify PE as a psychological, not an organic, disease, which is pretty dinosaur-ish in many ways. The logical derivation from their own statements is that we should then treat the underlying psychopathology, not band-aid it with some short-acting SSRI not dosed in such a way that it could actually treat depression or other underlying psychiatric comorbidities.

PE is undertreated, and I'm not sad that research is being performed for better therapies, pharmaceutical or otherwise, to address it. But taking a bad solution to market isn't progress, despite what our business colleagues would like us to believe.

Medicine: Academic Doping

I stand proudly above my soapbox and scream about how poor kids don't get the treatment they need for ADHD, while rich kids take Ritalin like a multi-vitamin because they got a B in math on their last report card. And at least MSNBC agrees. As evidenced by some of the obvious misinformation of belief held by some of those in my mental health policy course with regards to whether ADHD is even a real disease, we face a reverse mythology about the condition that somehow drug companies or script-happy docs have made up a disorder to fund business, when it's in fact pretty tough to get a real diagnosis backed with neuropsychiatric testing and evidence of a real neuropsychiatric condition in more than one setting.

And maybe it does happen some places. Obviously it does. Every med student knew at least one chode when we were studying for the MCAT that was popping Adderall like it was going to make up for 21 years of academic jerking off in six weeks time. They obviously got their amphetamine salts from somewhere, and it probably wasn't Columbia.

So summary: soapbox = rich kids on Ritalin + poor kids on crack = SparkWrath!

Medicine: All meds unhealthy, if you listen to Tom Cruise's douchebag spokesperson

So Tom Cruise apologizes to Brook Shields for playing (anti-)psychiatrist without a license. And then his douchebag mouthpiece has this to say:

"(But) he has not changed his position about anti-depressants, which as evidenced by the black label warnings issued by the FDA on these types of drugs, are unhealthy."

The following is a list of other medications (maintained by Joyce Generali at Kansas Med) which must be unhealthy as well, as they carry FDA black box warnings:

• Abacavir
  
• Abarelix
  
• Acitretin
  
• Adalimumab
  
• Adefovir
  
• Aldesleukin
  
• Alemtuzumab
  
• Alosetron
  
• Alprostadil
  
• Altretamine
  
• Amikacin (parenteral)
  
• Amiloride
  
• Aminoglycosides (parenteral)
  
• Amiodarone (oral)
  
• Amitriptyline
  
• Amoxapine
  
• Amphetamines
  
• Amphotericin (nonliposomal)
  
• Amprenavir (Oral solution)
  
• Anabolic steroids
  
• Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors
  
• Angiotensin II Antagonists
  
• Antihemophilic Factor
  
• Anti-thymocyte Globulin (equine)
  
• Anti-thymocyte Globulin (rabbit)
  
• Aprotinin
  
• Aripiprazole
  
• Arsenic trioxide
  
• Asparaginase
  
• Atenolol (Oral)
  
• Atomoxetine
  
• Atracurium
  
• Auranofin
  
• Azathioprine
  
• Bacitracin (injection)
  
• Baclofen(Intrathecal)
• Basiliximab
• BCG (Live)
  
• Benazepril
  
• Beta Blockers (Oral)
• Bevacizumab
• Bexarotene
• Bleomycin
• Bosentan
  
• Budesonide (Oral inhalation)
  
• Bumetanide
• Bupropion
  
• Bupivacaine
  
• Busulfan
  
• Candesartan
  
• Capecitabine
  
• Capreomycin
  
• Captopril
  
• Carbamazepine
  
• Carbonyl Iron (Oral)
• Carboplatin
• Carmustine
  
• Celecoxib
  
• Cetuximab
• Chlorambucil
• Chloramphenicol
  
• Chloroquine Phosphate
  
• Cidofovir
  
• Cilostazol
• Cisapride
• Cisplatin
  
• Citalopram
  
• Cladribine
• Clindamycin(injection and oral)
  
• Clomipramine
  
• Clonidine(epidural)
  
• Clozapine
  
• Contraceptives(Containing estrogen)
• Corticosteroids (Oral Inhalation)
• Cyclosporine
• Cytarabine (Conventional)
• Cytarabine (Liposomal)
• Dacarbazine
  
• Daclizumab
  
• Dactinomycin
  
• Dalteparin
  
• Danazol
• Dantrolene
• Daunorubicin (Conventional)
• Daunorubicin (Liposomal)
  
• Denileukin diftitox
  
• Desimpramine
  
• Desirudin
  
• Dexmethylphenidate
  
• Dextroamphetamine
  
• Diatrizoate Meglumine
  
• Diatrizoate Sodium
  
• Diclofenac sodium
  
• Diclofenac potassium
  
• Didanosine
  
• Diflunisal
  
• Dihydroergotamine
  
• Dinoprostone (vaginal suppository)
  
• Disopyramide
  
• Disulfiram
  
• Divalproex Sodium
  
• Docetaxel
• Dofetilide
  
• Dopamine
  
• Doxacurium
  
• Doxepin
  
• Doxorubicin (Conventional)
• Doxorubicin (Liposomal)
• Droperidol
  
• Duloxetine
  
• Edetate calcium disodium
  
• Emtricitabine
  
• Enalapril/Enalaprilat
  
• Enoxaparin
  
• Entecavir
  
• Epirubicin
  
• Eprosartan
  
• Ergotamine
  
• Escitalopram
  
• Estrogens
  
• Etodolac
  
• Etoposide
• Fat Emulsions (intravenous)
• Felbamate
  
• Fenoprofen
  
• Fentanyl Transdermal
• Fentanyl Transmucosal
  
• Ferrous Fumarate
• Flecainide
  
• Floxuridine
• Flucytosine
• Fludarabine
  
• Flumazenil
  
• Flunisolide (Inhaler)
  
• Fluorouracil
  
• Fluoxetine
  
• Flurbiprofen
  
• Flutamide
  
• Fluvoxamine
  
• Fondaparinux sodium
  
• Formoterol fumarate
  
• Foscarnet
  
• Fosinopril
  
• Gallium Nitrate
  
• Ganciclovir
• Gemtuzumab
  
• Gentamicin (parenteral)
  
• Gold Sodium Thiomalate
  
• Hemin for Injection
  
• Heparinoids (low molecular weight)
  
• Hydromorphone Hydrochloride (oral: Extended release)
  
• Hydroxychloroquine
  
• Hydroxyurea
  
• Ibritumomab tiuxetan
  
• Ibuprofen
  
• Ibutilide
• Idarubicin
• Ifosfamide
  
• Imipiramine Pamoate
  
• Immune Globulins (Intravenous)
  
• Indomethacin
  
• Infliximab
• Interferons(alpha)
  
• Iodixanol
  
• Iopamidol (discontinued)
  
• Irbesartan
  
• Iron containing vitamins/products
• Iron dextran (injection)
• Irinotecan
  
• Isocarboxazid
  
• Isoniazid
• Isotretinoin
• Itraconazole
  
• Kanamycin(parenteral)
  
• Ketamine
• Ketoconazole (oral)
  
• Ketoprofen
  
• Ketorolac
• Lamivudine
• Lamotrigine
• Leflunomide
  
• Lenalidomide
• Levomethadyl
• Levothyroxine
  
• Lincomycin
  
• Lindane
  
• Liothyronine Sodium
  
• Liotrix
  
• Lisinopril
  
• Lithium
• Lomustine
  
• Losartan
  
• Low Molecular Weight Heparins
  
• Lymphocyte Immune Globulin (equine)
  
• Maprotiline
  
• Mechlorethamine
  
• Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (Depo-Contraceptive Injection)
  
• Mefenamic Acid
  
• Meloxicam
  
• Melphalan
• Mesoridazine
  
• Metformin
  
• Methacholine
  
• Methadone
  
• Methamphetamine
  
• Methohexital
  
• Methotrexate
• Methoxsalen (Oral)
  
• Methoxsalen (Injection)
• Methyldopa/thiazide Combinations
  
• Methylphenidate
  
• Metoprolol (Oral)
  
• Metronidazole (Oral and injection)
• Mexilitene
• Midazolam
• Midodrine
• Mifepristone
  
• Minoxidil
  
• Mirtazapine
  
• Misoprostol
• Mitomycin
• Mitotane
• Mitoxantrone
  
• Moexipril
  
• Moricizine
  
• Morphine Injection (Preservative Free)
  
• Morphine Sulfate (Controlled Release Tablets/Extended Release Capsules)
  
• Muromonab
• Mycophenolate mofetil
  
• Mycophenolate sodium
  
• Nabumetone
  
• Nadolol (oral)
  
• Naltrexone
  
• Nandrolone Decanoate
  
• Naproxen
  
• Nefazodone
  
• Nelarabine
  
• Neomycin (oral solution)
  
• Nevirapine
• Nilutamide
  
• Nimodipine
  
• Nitroprusside
  
• Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Agents (NSAIDs)
  
• Norepinephrine Bitarate (Injection)
  
• Olanzapine
  
• Olmesartan
  
• Oprelvekin
  
• Oxaliplatin
  
• Oxandrolone
  
• Oxaprozin
  
• Oxaprozin Potassium
  
• Oxybate, Sodium
  
• Oxycodone (Controlled Release)
  
• Oxymetholone
  
• Oxytocin
  
• Paclitaxel
  
• Paclitaxel: Protein-Bound Particles (PBP)
  
• Pancuronium
  
• Paroxetine
  
• Peginterferon
  
• Pemoline (US Market withdrawal Oct 2005)
  
• Penicillamine
  
• Pentazocine/naloxone
• Pentostatin
  
• Perindopril
  
• Phenelzine
  
• Phenylephrine (Injection)
  
• Phytonadione (injection)
  
• Pimecrolimus (topical)
  
• Pipercuronium
  
• Piroxicam
  
• Polymixin B (Parenteral)
  
• Pooled Plasma (human) SD Treated (Plas+SD)
  
• Pramlintide
  
• Prazosin/Polythiazide
  
• Primaquine Phosphate
  
• Procainamide
• Procarbazine
  
• Promethazine
  
• Propafenone
  
• Propoxyphene
  
• Propranolol (Oral)
  
• Protriptyline
  
• Quetiapine
  
• Quinapril
  
• Quinidine
• Quinipristin/ Dalfopristin
  
• Ramipril
  
• Rasburicase
  
• Ribavirin (inhalation)
• Ribavirin /interferon
  
• Risperidone
  
• Ritonavir
• Rituximab
• Salmeterol
  
• Salsalate*
  
• Saquinivar
  
• Selegiline (Transdermal)
  
• Sertraline
• Sirolimus
• Sodium Oxybate
  
• Sotalol
  
• Spironolactone
  
• Stavudine
• Streptomycin
• Streptozocin
• Succinyl Choline
  
• Sulfadoxine/Pyrimethamine
  
• Sulindac
  
• Tacrolimus (Oral, Injection)
  
• Tacrolimus (Topical)
  
• Tamoxifen
  
• Telmisartan
  
• Teniposide
• Tenofovir
  
• Teriparatide
  
• Thalidomide
• Thioridazine
  
• Thrombin (bovine)
  
• Thyroid
  
• Ticlopidine
  
• Timolol (Oral)
  
• Tinzaparin
  
• Tinidazole
  
• Tipranavir
  
• Tobramycin(parenteral)
  
• Tocaininde
  
• Tolcapone
  
• Tolmetin
• Topotecan
• Tositumomomab and Iodine I 131 Tositumomab
  
• Trandolapril
  
• Tranylcypromine
  
• Trastuzumab
  
• Trazodone
  
• Tretinoin
• Triameterene Combination products
• Trimetrexate
  
• Trimipramine
  
• Trovafloxacin
  
• Vaccina Immune Globulins (Intravenous)
  
• Valdecoxib (Withdrawn from US Market-April 2005)
  
• Valganciclovir
  
• Valproate Sodium (Injection)
  
• Valproic Acid and derivatives
  
• Valsartan
  
• Venlafaxine
  
• Vercuronium
  
• Vinblastine
  
• Vincristine
  
• Vinorelbine
  
• Zalcitabine
  
• Ziconotide
  
• Zidovudine
  
• Ziprasidone

Point taken, I'm sure. That is all.

Medicine: Shocking Parkinson's news

“In carefully selected patients, neurostimulation of the subthalamic nucleus is a powerful treatment that alleviates the burden of advanced Parkinson’s disease,” wrote the team, led by Gunther Deuschl of Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany.

A lot of neuroscientists are going to be pretty flustered if the next wave of neuroscience is psychomotor neurosurgery rather than psychopharmacology. So it blows.