Most people seem convinced that since the body inevitably shows the "ravages" of Time, similar ravages must therefore affect the mind, the spirit. Not true. What is most important is that in our lives we have learned through the mind, the mind that is our spirit, and that is what will remain even when the body breaks down.

Drugs Offer No Benefit in Curbing Aggression, Study Finds
By BENEDICT CAREY, NY Times

Published: January 4, 2008

The drugs most widely used to manage aggressive outbursts in intellectually disabled people are no more effective than placebos for most patients and may be less so, researchers report.

The finding, being published Friday, sharply challenges standard medical practice in mental health clinics and nursing homes in the United States and around the world.

In recent years, many doctors have begun to use the so-called antipsychotic drugs, which were developed to treat schizophrenia, as all-purpose tranquilizers to settle threatening behavior — in children with attention-deficit problems, college students with depression, older people with Alzheimer’s disease and intellectually handicapped people.

The new study tracked 86 adults with low I.Q.’s in community housing in England, Wales and Australia over more than a month of treatment. It found a 79 percent reduction in aggressive behavior among those taking dummy pills, compared with a reduction of 65 percent or less in those taking antipsychotic drugs.

The researchers focused on two drugs, Risperdal by Janssen, and an older drug, Haldol, but said the findings almost certainly applied to all similar medications. Such drugs account for more than $10 billion in annual sales, and research suggests that at least half of all prescriptions are for unapproved “off label” uses — often to treat aggression or irritation.

The authors said the results were quite likely to intensify calls for a government review of British treatment standards for such patients, and perhaps to prompt more careful study of treatment for aggressive behavior in patients with a wide variety of diagnoses.

Other experts said the findings were also almost certain to inflame a continuing debate over the widening use of antipsychotic drugs. Patient advocates and some psychiatrists say the medications are overused.

Previous studies of the drugs’ effect on aggressive outbursts have been mixed, with some showing little benefit and others a strong calming influence. But the drugs have serious side effects, including rapid weight gain and tremors, and doctors have had little rigorous evidence to guide practice.

“This is a very significant finding by some very prominent psychiatrists” — one that directly challenges the status quo, said Johnny L. Matson, a professor of psychology at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, co-author of an editorial with the study in the journal Lancet.

While it is unclear how much the study by itself will alter prescribing habits, “the message to doctors should be, think twice about prescribing, go with lower doses and monitor side effects very carefully,” Dr. Matson continued, adding:

“Or just don’t do it. We know that behavioral treatments can work very well with many patients.”

Other experts disagreed, saying the new study was not in line with previous research or their own experience. Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, said that Risperdal only promotes approved uses, which in this country include the treatment of irritability associated with autism in children.

In the study, Dr. Peter J. Tyrer, a professor of psychiatry at Imperial College London, led a research team who assigned 86 people from ages 18 to 65 to one of three groups: one that received Risperdal; one that received another antipsychotic, the generic form of Haldol; and one that was given a placebo pill. Caregivers tracked the participants’ behavior. Many people with very low I.Q.’s are quick to anger and lash out at others, bang their heads or fists into the wall in frustration, or singe the air with obscenities when annoyed.

After a month, people in all three groups had settled down, losing their temper less often and causing less damage when they did. Yet unexpectedly, those in the placebo group improved the most, significantly more so than those on medication.

In an interview, Dr. Tyrer said there was no reason to believe that any other antipsychotic drug used for aggression, like Zyprexa from Eli Lilly or Seroquel from AstraZeneca, would be more effective. Being in the study, with all the extra attention it brought, was itself what apparently made the difference, he said.

“These people tend to get so little company normally,” Dr. Tyrer said. “They’re neglected, they tend to be pushed into the background, and this extra attention has a much bigger effect on them that it would on a person of more normal intelligence level.”

The study authors, who included researchers from the University of Wales and the University of Birmingham in Britain and the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, wrote that their results “should not be interpreted as an indication that antipsychotic drugs have no place in the treatment of some aspects of behavior disturbance.”

But the routine prescription of the drugs for aggression, they concluded, “should no longer be regarded as a satisfactory form of care.” [link]  More >

All we need to bring to meditation is ourselves, for our bodies and minds are the foundations of meditation. Breath, which is like a coordinator of body and mind, is the essence of being that integrates them.

Ms. Rommes has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or C.O.P.D., a progressive illness that permanently damages the lungs and is usually caused by smoking. Once thought of as an old man’s disease, this disorder has become a major killer in women as well, the consequence of a smoking boom in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. The death rate in women nearly tripled from 1980 to 2000, and since 2000, more women than men have died or been hospitalized every year because of the disease.

"The mission of the social work profession is rooted in a set of core values. These core values, embraced by social workers throughout the profession's history, are the foundation of social work's unique purpose and perspective:

service
social justice
dignity and worth of the person
importance of human relationships
integrity
competence.

This constellation of core values reflects what is unique to the social work profession. Core values, and the principles that flow from them, must be balanced within the context and complexity of the human experience."

I appreciate that you take the time to read these brief posts. Please feel free to respond to my logs/blogs. As a professor of social work, I am interested in learning how students, professionals and others feel about these practices and issues related to our core values.

Note: Photo by Mike Connealy  More >

We can create a beautiful universe. When our problems become our friends and supporters, like gifts or contributions, we no longer have any problems. Then we have freedom from inner conflict; we have inner peace, the highest freedom there is. (Tarthang Tulku, Openness Mind)

Volunteers Needed Throughout the World--Come Join our New Civilization, Global Touch Project - Humanity Needs Us Now!

Global Touch Program-
Our Las Cruces Health Promotion Team with Elders would like to introduce and teach you to give the 15-Minute StressOut Program with Elders—a program designed to give ethical, safe, skillful, and nourishing touch with elders.

Our StressOut Program Experience is often described as {link:http://jerryvest.pages.web.com/id5.html

Using acupressure and other skillful techniques, coordinated with the breath to balance our body, mind, emotions and spirit, is a heartfelt or empathic experience for both the giver and receiver of this partner massage.

While systematically applying pressure points and introducing the 'laying-on-of-hands,' we ask that givers and receivers maintain an awareness of their breath throughout the activity. While we refer to our "stressout program" as a chair like massage, it may be more accurate to describe the mindful experience as a partner meditation - relaxing, yet energetic. (See 15-Minute StressOut Program - [link]

During this past year, our volunteers – seniors, NMSU social work, nursing and health science students, caregivers, in-home care workers, senior staff, and others gave over 3,800 “stressouts”(chair-like massage) in nursing homes, diabetic health clinics, day care and in-home care services.

REQUIREMENTS:

1) Volunteer for minimum of 2 hours per week in one of the settings identified;

2) Participate in orientation and training session;

3) Administer (6)stressouts with friends, family, colleagues, others;

4) Report (6)evaluations of your work.

RECEIVE:

1) Free Instructional DVD, Protocol & Guidelines for the Ethical Use of Safe, Skillful and Nourishing Touch;

2) Partnership & Certification in our healthy touch organization committed to advancing the quality of lives, health and relationships of elders on a global scale; [link]

3) An exchange of energy, love, respect, and good will knowing that you have contributed through skillful touch to help support the basic human need requirements for elders and others to live a healthy, dignified and respectful life.

CONTACT:

Jerry Vest, ACSW/LISW/LMT, Professor Emeritus, New Mexico State University, School of Social Work, (505)524-2379 and email: geraldvest@comcast.net

or

Francesca Smith, LBSW, City of Las Cruces, In-Home Services Manager, (505) 541-2460 and email: fsmith@las-cruces.org

SEE ATTACHMENTSincluded in our Homepage – [link]

1) Protocol

2) Ethical Guidelines for Safe, Skillful and Nourishing Touch

3) Partner Certificate (example)

4) Good Samaritan News

NOTE:The American Diabetes Association selected our research article, "Alternative Health Practices in Ethnically Diverse Rural Areas," using the 15-Minute StressOut Program as the primary intervention, with diabetic patients and their families as "Best Practice Research" during the past decade.,(See Abstract No.8--point & click on this link)
[link]

Become a Global Partner-

If you wish to be a volunteer, schedule an in-service training program in your agency/community or know of care-givers and others who may be interested in learning our ethical, safe, skillful and nourishing touch program for all populations, please let us know.

We will help you develop your orientation workshop/training program and send you a free Instructional DVD and Power Point Program Outline. We suggest that our volunteers/givers, give a minimum of 2 hours a week of skillful touch-"stressouts." After meeting our requirements and submiting your evaluations, we will add your name to our list of Certified Team Members}. [link]  More >

The mind provides us with a vital energy that is responsive to every moment. Developing awareness of this hidden resource is the gateway to real freedom and peace, a true refuge in a crowded and frustrating world. (Tarthang Tulku, Hidden Mind of Freedom)

I am going to introduce some more 'grist for the mill' on the relationship of the mental health industry and the drug corporations or Big Pharmas as they are called. I am also going to introduce the power of the Internet and forums to advance our goals. I will continue to identify the dangers that exist with these powerful corporations while they continue to influence and control their/our clients who wish to participate in our community mental health programs. The psychiatry industry, by virtue of their medical license, have the sanction to diagnose, label, and give every person/patient/client a number that represents a disorder in their DSM handbook.

Today, the NY Times introduced two articles related to the drug industry and their relationship with psychiatry. It is apparent to many of us that the public should be aware of psychiatry, this classification system and why we have such excessive costs of drugs and treatment. Also, the Insurance Corporations are also part of this coalition to control the private records, and to maintain the categorization patients for payment and for auditing purposes, as well.

Abstracted from NY Times article:

Billions of $'s given to doctors by drug companies to prescribe their drugs. How long will our politicians, professional organizations and communities allow this to happen?

Drug company representatives are a major presence. They sponsor Journal Club (where trainees learn to review new data and research), they pay for many of our weekly speakers and regularly offer free dinners for the residents and faculty. They enjoy free access to our mailboxes and regularly detail our trainees in their offices, hallways and in our little kitchen.

This is not uncommon. Meredith Rosenthal at the Harvard School of Public Health reported in The New England Journal of Medicine that the industry spends roughly $15.7 billion annually marketing medications, with $4.8 billion dedicated to detailing individual physicians, or roughly $6,000 to $11,000 a doctor a year.

Studies indicate that most physicians meet with pharmaceutical representatives four times a month.

Studies also reveal that most physicians erroneously believe the representatives do not influence prescribing habits.

When doctors and trainees meet with reps, they change their prescribing habits and are far more likely to prescribe the drugs described, even when they are more expensive or have no benefit over alternatives. They are also more willing to request illogical changes to hospital guidelines that govern which drugs can be prescribed.

Estimates suggest that roughly $1 billion was spent advertising antidepressants to health professionals in 2000.

[link]

COMMENTARY; Drug Companies Get Too Close for Med School's Comfort

By DAN SHAPIRO
Published: January 20, 2004

In an 2002 article, Dr. Peterson wrote: ''Despite the lack of evidence of a significant difference in efficacy between older and newer agents, clinicians perceive the newer agents to be more efficacious -- these findings are significant as they highlight the discrepancy between empirical evidence and clinical practices and suggest that other factors influence clinicians' medication choices in the treatment of depression.''

The effect is easy to see in our department. The antidepressants fluoxetine, known popularly as Prozac, and paroxetine, known as Paxil, are now generic and cost patients and insurers pennies a day. Newer, rival drugs including sertraline (Zoloft), escitalopram (Lexapro) and Venlafaxine (Effexor) are 5 to 20 times as expensive.

In the last seven years, I have watched our residents prescribe the newest medications almost exclusively.

[link]


Do view this short video on "the tragic consequences of drugging our children.

[link]


Note: Picture by Mike Connealy  More >

Get the real story of press releases and other activities carried out by Dr. Baughman. [Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD: this makes it perhaps the biggest health care fraud in history, but does not a thing to validate it as a disease. Where is the first case report of ADHD-the disease. There is none]

[link]




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From: NewsTarget Insider
Reply-To: insider@newstarget.com
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2007 07:18:23 -0700
Subject: NewsTarget report: ADHD fraud exposed - Dr. Fred Baughman
NewsTarget Insider Alert (www.NewsTarget.com)
Online reports / book announcements
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Dear readers,

In the last 30 years, the field of psychiatry has transformed childhood into a disease through the label of ADHD. That's exactly what Dr. Fred Baughman, a pediatric neurologist and fellow of the American Association of Neurologists explores in this downloadable interview from Truth Publishing.

Dr. Baughman is one of the few neurological experts that is willing to come forward with the truth about ADHD and the mass drugging of America's children. Have you ever wondered why other countries don't have this explosion of mental illness in their kids? Have you ever wondered why people in your parent's generation didn't have these problems? The answers are all right here in this interview.

Plus, Dr. Baughman shares his latest book on the subject, and a DVD warning to parents about the latest epidemic of childhood diagnosis, who is profiting from it, and how the label could hurt their child for life -- not to mention the risk of heart attack, stroke, drug abuse and all the other side effects that children on ADHD drugs experience.

Read all this and more in "Live with Dr. Fred Baughman," available for downloading now at:

[link]



Dr. Baughman shares startling facts such as:

o What group wants four out of every ten children diagnosed as ADHD

o How brain "disorders" lack an objective standard

o Why an ADHD-labeled child will have trouble getting healthcare coverage, getting a job, or getting into the military

o How diseases are created by a "show of hands"

o How parents, teachers and school districts are getting paid for ADHD diagnoses

o How many psychiatric experts are owned by the pharmaceutical industry

o The law the Bush Administration put into action that will REQUIRE your child to be screened for ADHD

o Adult ADHD "recruiting" centers where 80 percent are diagnosed as ADHD

o How the FDA lobbied another country to keep dangerous ADHD drugs on the market after fatalities occured

o Why your grandparents were never diagnosed with ADHD

o What percentage of kids walk out of their first psychiatric visit with an ADHD diagnosis

o How taxpayers foot the bill for every ADHD diagnosis

You'll want to pass this information on to everyone you know with children or grandchildren, so they don't become just another vehicle of profit for the drug industry. The risks are just too great, and too many parents and children have suffered already.

Download "Live with Dr. Fred Baughman" right now and read it for yourself:

[link]  More >

To grow young means to grow in our youthful traits, not to grow out of or to abandon them.

Success for the child becomes emulation of his elders. The rare individuals who somehow manage to avoid falling into this trap and retain their childlike qualities are considered either eccentric, odd, nonconformist, or otherwise otiose (futile). We do not appreciate non-conformists in America. Our colleges and universities, not to mention our schools, avoid or reject them.(p. 198)

It is--the need to love others and to be loved; the qualities of curiosity, inquisitiveness, thirst for knowlege; the need to learn; imagination, creativity, openmindedness, experimental-mindedness; the sense of humor, playfulness, joy, the optimism, honesty, resilience, and compassionate intelligence--that constitute the spirit of the child. Growing Young, Ashley Montagu