This book is also available in English as The Logic of Care but the cover is not as good. By Annemarie Mol, it is an extraordinary book on the meaning of care - making sure, for instance, people with diabetes know to prick the side of their finger, not the pulp which is rich in the touch receptors we may need if diabetes causes eyesight problems - or perhaps just even in the … [Read more...] about Are Diabetes and Depression Linked?
Diabetes
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
Embracing Healthcare’s Opportunities
Up to 1980, the pharmaceutical industry was small beer. Most of the companies had recently demerged from chemical companies, and were hiring management consultants to help them work out how to do the job. A steady stream of life-saving drugs from the 1940s to 1960s that people and health services were willing to buy at prices greatly in excess of their costs of production … [Read more...] about Embracing Healthcare’s Opportunities
Challenging My Doctor to Disclose
This recently published US strategy on Suicide Prevention epitomizes all that is going wrong in medicine today. It is stuffed full of references to Shared Decision Making, Informed Consent and Lived Experience. Stuffed full of token words, window-dressing, tick-boxing. It will increase rather than reduce suicide rates. It is clear that the people behind this, and … [Read more...] about Challenging My Doctor to Disclose
How the Safety of Drugs was Destroyed
Emer Cooke, the CEO of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is Irish. This is Dublin's famous Halfpenny Bridge which for some reason features in an article outlining the history of the phrase Tail wags Dog which seems appropriate for what followed. I wrote to Emer recently about a bizarre letter I received from Kinapse - A Brush with EMA - who run EMA's medical literature … [Read more...] about How the Safety of Drugs was Destroyed
Podcasts, YouTube Channels, Blogs and Related
In some of the comments after the last post, POGO mentioned that Josef Witt-Doerring has done two interviews with me so far and posted them on his site. The Risks of Antidepressants and Antidepressants and Mass Shootings/Murder Suicide: An interview has also appeared on Demystifying Science podcast with Anastasia & Michael Shilo The Podcast called … [Read more...] about Podcasts, YouTube Channels, Blogs and Related
Clinical Trial Fraud
This is part two of Johanna Ryan's posts on Ghosts in the Clinical Trial Machine or Clinical Trial Fraud. Last weeks post reported on how doctors in three states have been convicted of handing in fake clinical-trial results from fake patients. This week we’ll examine how small-time crooks like these ended up doing world-class medical research for companies like GSK. Medical … [Read more...] about Clinical Trial Fraud
Ghosts in the Clinical Trial Machine
This is the first part of a two part series on clinical trial fraud from Johanna Ryan, with part 2 next week. Jo is RxISK's clinical trial and shoddy clinical practice sleuth - see The Maintenance Man. Recently the U.S. Department of Justice called attention to a small but worrisome crime wave. Health care fraud is a familiar feature of American life that may account for … [Read more...] about Ghosts in the Clinical Trial Machine
Back in Olanzapine Waters
Editorial Note: Courtesy of Fast Forward, here is a 12 month follow up to Olanzapine Withdrawal: Sally’s Story; some good, some OK and some awful. Sounds and speech Twelve months later, I continue to have problems with my hearing. The serious sensitivity to sounds has settled a bit - so I don't jump out of my skin when a knife scrapes on a plate, or Rob, my husband coughs. … [Read more...] about Back in Olanzapine Waters
Olanzapine Withdrawal: Sally’s Story
Editorial Note: How long does withdrawal last? How much overlap is there between antipsychotic, benzodiazepine and antidepressant withdrawal? This is the first of two posts covering these issues. All answers later this week in part two. For Antipsychotic Withdrawal - see also Carole's Story. I was prescribed olanzapine 20 mg in 2001, as a mood stabilizer, following the … [Read more...] about Olanzapine Withdrawal: Sally’s Story