The Psychiatry Hoax

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#1http://snipurl.com/9nzuvAntipsychotics: Doctors 'conned' by drug industry08 January 2009Doctors and psychiatrists have been conned by the drug industry to prescribe new, or second-generation, antipsychotics for problems such as schizophrenia, two leading specialists have claimed. The new generation of drugs, known as atypicals, were heralded as safer and more effective than the earlier antipsychotics, and for the past 20 years doctors have been ‘beguiled’ into thinking they were superior.The claims come from Peter Tyrer and Tim Kendall from Imperial College London as a commentary on a new study that assessed the effectiveness of nine second-generation antipsychotics against earlier, typical antipsychotic drugs.The study, conducted by Munich University, found that the second-generation drugs were not even a new class of drug at all, but were a hotchpotch made up from ingredients used in the earlier drugs.  They certainly weren’t more effective or safer.In their commentary, Tyrer and Kendall say: “The spurious invention of the atypicals can now be regarded as invention only, cleverly manipulated by the drug industry for marketing purposes and only now being exposed.”(Source: Lancet, 2009; 373: 4-5; 31-41).-----------#2http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99141561Alzheimer's drugs double death risk in elderlyfrom The Associated PressLONDON January 8, 2009, 07:05 pm ET · Anti-psychotic drugs commonly used to treat Alzheimer's disease may double a patient's chance of dying within a few years, suggests a new study that adds to concerns already known about such medications."For the vast majority of Alzheimer's patients, taking these drugs is probably not a worthwhile risk," said Clive Ballard, the paper's lead author, of the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases at King's College London."Would I want to take a drug that slightly reduced my aggression but doubled my risk of dying? I'm not sure I would," Ballard said.The research was published Friday in the medical journal, Lancet Neurology.Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and causes symptoms including aggression, delusions and hallucinations. Previous studies have shown anti-psychotic drugs, which can help control the aggression and hallucinations for a few months raise the risk of death in older patients with dementia. There are other side effects, including respiratory problems and stroke.Ballard and colleagues followed 165 patients aged 67 to 100 years with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease from 2001 to 2004 in Britain. Half continued taking their anti-psychotic drugs, which included Risperdal, Thorazine and Stelazine. The other half got placebos.Of the 83 receiving drugs, 39 were dead after a year. Of the 82 taking fake pills, 27 were dead after a year. Most deaths in both groups were due to pneumonia.After two years, 46 percent of Alzheimer's patients taking the anti-psychotics were alive, versus 71 percent of those not on the drugs. After three years, only 30 percent of patients on the drugs were alive, versus 59 percent of those not taking drugs.In the United Kingdom and the United States, guidelines advise doctors to use anti-psychotic drugs cautiously and temporarily. But in many nursing homes in Europe and North America, up to 60 percent of patients with dementia are routinely given the drugs for one to two years."The drug regimen for any person with Alzheimer's needs to be personalized," said William Thies of the Alzheimer's Association in the U.S. Thies was not connected to the study. "At some points, some people will be better off with no medication."Simon Lovestone of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in London said psychiatrists should try environmental or behavioral therapies instead of anti-psychotics.Experts aren't sure how the anti-psychotics increase patients' risk of dying. But they think the drugs could be damaging to the brain and their sedative effects make patients less able to exercise and more susceptible to deadly infections.The study was paid for by the U.K. Alzheimer's Research Trust. Ballard reported receiving grants from various pharmaceutical companies which make drugs used to treat Alzheimer's patients.———On the Net:http://www.lancet.com===========A Typical Deception: New antipsychotics are more expensive, but no more effective - Have the US and UK health authorities been conned yet again by the promise of a ‘new generation’ of better and more effective drugs? 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Because the psychiatrist is paid handsomely to write out the prescription.=====In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.