No, Babies Are NOT Born Addicted to Opioids
“A crisis is a terrible thing to waste,” is a phrase coined by Stanford economist Paul Romer. Politicians are always in search of new crises to address—new fires to put out—with rapid and decisive action. In their passion to appear heroic to their constituents they often act in haste, not ta king the time to develop a deep and nuanced understanding of the issue at hand, insensitive to the notion that their actions might actually exacerbate the crisis.An example of that lack of understanding was made apparent in a press release by the office of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) on June 22 supporting legisl...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 25, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
Might Depression Be Linked to One of These Popular Medications?
If you’re taking beta blockers, certain kinds of anxiety drugs, certain types of painkillers (including ibuprofen), proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) (used to treat acid reflux), ACE inhibitors (used to treat high blood pressure), or anti-convulsant drugs, you may be at greater risk for depression. That’s according to a new, large-scale study published earlier this week in JAMA.
However, this was a correlational study, so it can’t say that these medications actually cause depression or not. It may be that people with greater health problems are more likely to take one of these medications and be depressed abo...
Source: World of Psychology - June 15, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: Depression General Medications Psychiatry Research Drugs cause depression popular medications Source Type: blogs
The Other Opioid Epidemic
By HANS DUVEFELT, MD
“I made myself a hypodermic injection of a triple dose of morphia and sank down on the couch in my consulting-room….I told her I was all right, all I wanted was twenty-four hours’ sleep, she was not to disturb me unless the house was on fire.”
– Axel Munthe, MD, The Story of San Michele (1929)
When people in this country mention the opioid epidemic, most of the time it is in the context of addiction with its ensuing criminality and social deprivation, and the focus is on opioids’ medical complications like withdrawal, overdose and death.
But that is only one of the opioid epidemics we have...
Source: The Health Care Blog - January 2, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Top 25 Psychiatric Medications for 2016
Most people understand that the role of psychiatric medications is to help alleviate the symptoms associated with different types of mental disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, anxiety, and more. Psychiatric medications are an important part of a comprehensive treatment plan for effectively treating people who have a mental health concern or mental illness.
It’s good to know what drugs are being most-often prescribed for mental disorders in the U.S. These are the top 25 psychiatric medications by number of U.S. prescriptions dispensed in 2016, according to QuintilesIMS, a global infor...
Source: World of Psychology - October 12, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: General Medications Psychiatry Treatment medications for mental illness Psychiatric Drugs Psychiatric Medications psychiatric meds top psychiatric medications Source Type: blogs
The truth about long-term antidepressant use
A great piece today in the Guardian by Aida Edemariam. Good to see such a comprehensive piece of reporting in the mainstream media.
This what you and I know has happened to many of us, but at the same time GSK continues to deny is a major health crisis because of Seroxat (and other SSRIs). In the UK, as the High Court action moves ever closer to trial, GSK and their expensive legal team still have their collective head in the sand – at least that’s their public stance. I believe that for many years GSK has known about the problems Seroxat causes while you take it, about the terrible problems people have wit...
Source: seroxat secrets... - May 6, 2017 Category: Addiction Authors: admin Tags: Anti-depressant David Healy GSK Seroxat SSRI Source Type: blogs
Wellbeing: The Interdependencies of the Body, Mind & Spirit
By JIM PURCELL
In 1891, Dr. Luther Gulick proposed a red triangle as the YMCA symbol. In his words, the equal sides of the triangle stood for “man’s essential unity– body, mind and spirit– each being a necessary and eternal part of man, being neither one alone but all three.” True then, and equally true today, it highlights what is missing from most traditional approaches to wellness–the mental, emotional, and spiritual components. Hardly surprising given the remarkable resistance mental illness treatments encounter.
The term “mental illness” usually refers to recognized mental illnesses in acco...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 27, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Medications that Increase the Risks of Falling
Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for adults 65 and older, and research suggests that those taking four or more medications are at an even greater risk than those who don ’t.ByAlzheimer's Reading RoomWhat ’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s and DementiaHow to Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's and DementiaHow to Get Answers To Your Questions About Alzheimer's and Dementia“Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for adults 65 and older, and research suggests that those taking four or more medications are at an even greater risk than those who don’t – perhap...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 1, 2017 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's care care of dementia patients dementia care health help alzheimer's help with dementia care medications falls Prescription Medications Risks risk of falling senior care Source Type: blogs
Antidepressants And Women ’s Bones
Certain antidepressants used to relieve hot flashes, night sweats and other menopausal symptoms appear to increase the risk of bone fractures. The class of drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), include Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Luvox, Paxil and Zoloft, and are now considered effective alternatives to hormone replacement therapy. Investigators from Boston’s Northeastern University used a pharmaceutical database to identify more than 137,000 women age 40 through 64 who began taking SSRIs for menopausal symptoms between 1998 and 2010 and compared them with some 236,000 women taking prescription drugs fo...
Source: Dr. Weil's Daily Health Tips - November 1, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Dr. Weil Tags: Science and Supplement News antidepressant bone density bones Source Type: blogs
The Future of Work Part I
Have you ever taken some time to think about what work will look like 5, 10 or even 20 years from now? If you haven’t, it is probably worth the effort because a changing work environment may have dramatic implications for how you are employed in the future. In these two posts, I want to talk about some of the trends I’m seeing and how they may play out in the coming years.
Outsourcing
Companies are getting better and better at spinning off specific business functions and letting them be handled by others. For example, many businesses can’t justify running payroll in-house. It is cheaper to hire a company...
Source: Productivity501 - September 20, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Mark Shead Tags: Misc Source Type: blogs
Dementia Care, Which Drugs Increase the Risk of Falling
Medications can increase the risk of falls and falling; and, are a major cause of injuries and death in older adults.By Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading RoomDuring the entire 8 and a half years, 3,112 days, that I was taking care of my mother, I worried about her falling.Falls can result in hip injuries, head injuries, or something worse.If you loved one is falling, or complaining of "dizziness" check out the list of medications below; and then, consult with your personal care doctor.Problems with Balance, Walking, Falling an Early Sign of DementiaThe drugs older people take can make them more susceptible to falling.Research...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - September 7, 2016 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's care Alzheimer's Dementia dementia care dementia falls dementia help for caregivers family caregiving help alzheimer's help with dementia care memory care searches related to falling Source Type: blogs
Corruption of clinical trials reports: a proposal
CORRUPTION OF CLINICAL TRIALS REPORTS:A PROPOSALThere is a disconnection between the FDA’s drug approval process and the reports we see in medical journals. Pharmaceutical corporations exploit this gap through adulterated, self-serving analyses, and the FDA sits on its hands. I suggest we need a new mechanism to fix the problem – by independent analyses of clinical trials data.When they analyze and publish their clinical trials in medical journals, pharmaceutical corporations have free rein to shape the analyses. The FDA conducts independent analyses of the data submitted by the corporations, and it may deny or delay a...
Source: Health Care Renewal - June 22, 2016 Category: Health Management Tags: Bernard Carroll citalopram clinical trials Eric Topol escitalopram FDA Forest Pharmaceuticals Jay Amsterdam Jon Jureidini Leemon McHenry Lisa Cosgrove Lundbeck Underwriters Laboratory vortioxetine Source Type: blogs
Longing for the QT
A 58-year-old man presented to the ED with a reported overdose of an unknown medication. The patient was agitated, combative, and altered. Initial vital signs included a heart rate of 115 beats/min, blood pressure of 154/93 mm Hg, respirations of 22/min, and temperature of 99.5°F. The patient was difficult to evaluate because he was agitated, and he was given 5 mg of haloperidol IV and 2 mg of lorazepam IV. The patient continued to be agitated, and was given another 10 mg of haloperidol IV, followed by a repeat dose of 10 mg IV 15 minutes later. The patient then became unresponsive, and his cardiac monitor demonstrated th...
Source: The Tox Cave - March 1, 2016 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Placebo effects are weak: regression to the mean is the main reason ineffective treatments appear to work
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“Statistical regression to the mean predicts that patients selected for abnormalcy will, on the average, tend to improve. We argue that most improvements attributed to the placebo effect are actually instances of statistical regression.”
“Thus, we urge caution in interpreting patient improvements as causal effects of our actions and should avoid the conceit of assuming that our personal presence has strong healing powers.”
McDonald et al., (1983)
In 1955, Henry Beecher published "The Powerful Placebo". I was in my second undergraduate year when it appeared. An...
Source: DC's goodscience - December 11, 2015 Category: Science Authors: David Colquhoun Tags: acupuncture CAM placebo publishing quackademia random randomisation randomization RCT regression to the mean reproducibility statistics alternative medicine chiropractic osteopathy physiotherapy placebo effect Source Type: blogs
Placebo effects are weak: regression to the mean is the main reason ineffective treatments appear to work
“Statistical regression to the mean predicts that patients selected for abnormalcy will, on the average, tend to improve. We argue that most improvements attributed to the placebo effect are actually instances of statistical regression.”
“Thus, we urge caution in interpreting patient improvements as causal effects of our actions and should avoid the conceit of assuming that our personal presence has strong healing powers.”
McDonald et al., (1983)
In 1955, Henry Beecher published "The Powerful Placebo". I was in my second undergraduate year when it appeared. And for many decades afte...
Source: DC's goodscience - December 11, 2015 Category: Science Authors: David Colquhoun Tags: acupuncture CAM placebo publishing quackademia random randomisation randomization RCT regression to the mean reproducibility statistics alternative medicine chiropractic osteopathy physiotherapy placebo effect Source Type: blogs
