Epidemiology deals in correlations that are subject to confounding. Think tobacco and lung cancer. Although studies should attempt to account for confounding, confounding can also be exploited to explain away inconvenient data as tobacco company claims that correlations do not prove causation illustrated. This underpinned the famous Doubt is our Product tobacco company … [Read more...] about Epidemiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Pregnancy: Acetaminophen or Paracetamol
I took part in a podcast recently at the invitation of John Wilks and Our Birth Journey a group John is linked to. Our conversation is on this link: Antidepressants and Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy The title says Antidepressants and Acetaminophen (U.S. for Paracetamol). The original invite was to talk about Antidepressants and Pregnancy. The SSRI and related … [Read more...] about Pregnancy: Acetaminophen or Paracetamol
Who Knew Drugs could have Antibodies
Is the 60-year battle to conquer the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in its final phases? Is bronchiolitis about to be banished for ever? The propaganda might lead you to think so. Most developed countries from USA to Australia and Luxembourg to Nicaragua have jumped on the bandwagon and give “free” immunisations with either Pfizer’s maternal Abrysvo, given to pregnant … [Read more...] about Who Knew Drugs could have Antibodies
Ostriches, Doctors, SSRIs and Tylenol
In 2023 a new set of Canadian Guidelines for the Management of Alcohol Use Disorders put a serious problem on the radar for doctors that few of them likely expected. See Antidepressants, Alcohol and Anne-Marie. The antidepressants doctors commonly prescribed, often telling people these medicines would help them manage their alcohol issues, were likely causing the problem – … [Read more...] about Ostriches, Doctors, SSRIs and Tylenol
Withdrawal Syndromes: Lost in Translation
Understanding Antidepressant Withdrawal © Coral Smith 2025 This post by Harriet Vogt follows on from her recent Ruptures in Clinical Care post The members of Shane Cooke and Mary Hennessey’s antidepressant withdrawal peer support group decided there was more to explore together after our first meeting. They wanted to dig deeper into their experiences of protracted … [Read more...] about Withdrawal Syndromes: Lost in Translation
Over-Diagnosing or Under-Diagnosing
This post follows on from Repairing Ruptures in Clinical Care and the Future of Health App-Ointments. It also links to An Appleby a Day and Tangled up in Bureaucracy. Repairing Ruptures had a lot of comments from Lucy. One of them kicks things off here. Lucy’s Struggle Since waking up to the adverse effects of psychiatric drugs, I have written countless letters to … [Read more...] about Over-Diagnosing or Under-Diagnosing
The Future of Health App-ointments
Several of the many people who write or track RxISK posts, have had input to this one, which dovetails with Harriet Vogt's post last week Repairing Ruptures in Clinical Care and the work of Shane Cooke and Mary Hennessey in getting health systems to listen to the voices of those harmed by treatment. The post, maybe, casts an ominous light on our abilities to get medicine to … [Read more...] about The Future of Health App-ointments
Repairing Ruptures in Clinical Care
Better Times Will Return © Josie Russell 2017 This post is by our warzone correspondent Harriet Vogt from frontline trenches. A few weeks ago I was invited to join an online discussion with a group of experts on iatrogenesis who have an in-depth knowledge of antidepressant withdrawal and the risks of polypharmacy. These highly informed, articulate, empathic medical … [Read more...] about Repairing Ruptures in Clinical Care
Restoring the Magic to Healthcare
The Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SRI) story starts in 1969 with Arvid Carlsson (above) who created Zelmid, the first SRI, after listening to people on antidepressants. He linked an anxiolytic effect some older drugs have to the serotonin system. The SRIs aimed at exploring that effect - Normality and Antidepressant Dysregulation. Fluoxetine (Prozac). sertraline (Zoloft). … [Read more...] about Restoring the Magic to Healthcare
Who Will Make Medicine Great Again
Apologies to all readers outside of Britain who may never have heard about The Pirates of Penzance, definitely not The Pirates of the Caribbean. PoP though has a famous song - I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General - featuring a dimwit General who knows everything about everything except military strategy. This post ideally needs an … [Read more...] about Who Will Make Medicine Great Again