When Steve Hyman, president of NIMH (U.S. Institute of Mental Health) went to the bioethics committee of President Bush (Commission on Bioethics) defend the meteoric rise in sales of Ritalin and other depressants for children, he did not invoke a single study that demonstrated the biological basis of the framework referred to as Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), neither cited a single study that showed the real advantages of using such medications ( Ritalin) for children. Instead he just quoted "rates of 50% concordance for schizophrenia between identical twins. " This assertion is used to say, as there is a biological basis for mental illness, schizophrenia in the case, all other diseases also have a biological basis, excellent justification for the use of chemical agents that alter mental functions. But of course, is very strange that you only use this argument: if there were really good biological indicators that could prove the concept of illness they would necessarily be appointed. This type of positioning provides anyone wondering if this "alleged" pathology has, in fact, organic bases.
USEFULNESS OF STUDIES WITH TWINS
Today, more than ever, genes are responsible for everything that is difficult to explain in medicine, more so in psychiatry, especially when the mere assumption of "organic" appropriate drug therapies.
But in the scientific community have echoed many authors who have decided to review some "truths" of medical science. Especially when these truths are obtained by statistical methods. The review of the statistics conducted by dr. Uffe Ravnskov has debunked the whole theory that heart disease was linked to the consumption of saturated fat and high cholesterol. Another author, psychologist Jay Joseph, wrote the book The Gene Illusion "(The illusion genetics), which examines minutely the foundation-stone of modern psychiatry, based on medication: a study of twins, which would prove that schizophrenia is a genetic disease. According to him these studies constitute a fallacy! It would be a myth, a mixture of many misconceptions attached to prove something that needed to be proven, cobbled biased by the use of mathematics. In a magazine article "The Human Nature Review, in 2003, another author, Jonathan Leo, is an examination of the work of J. Joseph, citing the most compelling, and impressing the reader with the marked fragility of the conventionally accepted knowledge that would support the premise of biological psychiatry.
Joseph proposed the theme: "Twin studies in psychiatry: science or pseudoscience?" In the journal Psychiatry Quartery (Spring 2002). In this article he remembers the psychiatrist Abraham Myerson, who wrote in 1925 under the aegis of the influence of eugenics, which genes should be very important, even without having to prove its existence, because we all know hereditary talents, hereditary virtues, vices hereditary etc.. Nothing but prejudice.
Although these studies that seem, at first look, providing evidence that there is an issue behind genetics of schizophrenia, when these data are subjected to tests more qualified, that evidence is dissolved.
Traditionally, compares the frequency of identical twins with fraternal twins with schizophrenia. The overwhelming majority of textbooks of psychiatry says that the fact that there is a concordance of 50% for identical twins versus 15% among fraternal twins as irrefutable evidence that this disease has a genetic basis, so biological cause, with a similar illness, for example, haemophilia. Therefore, only the same chemical strategies may be useful. If you made an assumption in psychiatry that would justify all that would come later: the mass medication approach on the psychological manifestations. (However much of that came "after" is being harshly criticized by many scholars around the world. (Maybe a little less in Brazil)). Joseph
reviewed ALL the twin studies indicated in the articles and books on psychiatry. And at the end of his review could no longer, at best, than any 20% concordance between identical twins. He also reports that some researchers, in fact, had not found high rates of agreement. But other scientists worried about saving the myth of "helped" such polls to stay with rates more "acceptable" to the general rule, using mathematical correction factors, generally unjustifiable. Some research that would fit easily be omitted. One such study, which presents a sampling of the largest population, lower than 11% concordance between identical twins and schizophrenia.
Research with twins, identical, but were created separately, have coarse execution errors, and should not be taken into consideration. One of them seems to be obviously manipulated.
Leo talks about the interesting research showed in Science, on one allele of genes linked to the polymorphism of the 5 HTT (serotonin) present in some people that might predispose to depression IF EXPOSURE TO A series of traumatic events. 86% of depressed patients who underwent four traumatic events in a clinic would have at least one copy of this allele. But 72% of people who had this allele, which would have been subjected to traumatic events would not have been depressed. It does not seem that - to have this genetic signature - make it easy to find out who is more or less likely to remain depressed.
A MENTAL ILLNESS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Another great discussion of both authors is on the effects of environment on mental health. Even a disease like multiple sclerosis, who must indeed have genetic predicates, seems to need one or more stimuli (unknown) environment to start their demonstration.
Although environmental issues are always pointed, in fact, have been promoted a few changes that can actually generate benefits for mental health, especially for children who carry the label of hyperactive, since even the authors, who are proponents of biological premise , used to say that the environmental aspect is very important. GROWING NUMBER
The number of mental illnesses has been expanded in psychiatric diagnostic manuals than any other group of diseases known. The first guide to diagnosis of mental illness (DSM I), 1952, 60 had diseases. Went through four revisions, until you reach the DSM IV, with more than four times the original number. Virtually all human behavior is in this manual. Thus it is hard not to find someone with a mental illness.
This may be related to the eugenic origins of American psychiatry. In the fifties there was a large gathering of interests between the Eugenics Society American (later the Society for the Study of Social Biology) and the American Psychiatric Association. The cataloging of human behavior could be a very strong indicator that would give adequate support to the notion that individuals who would best represent the American society than others. One of the ways designed to improve the population would, for example, individuals with schizophrenia or castrating them appear to be. No wonder that in the twentieth century, radical psychiatric treatments have never been banned. Electroshock therapy is an example. Another example was the doctor who made lobotomy an itinerant form, the interior of the United States, with a method and cheaper: drilling the skull of the "lucky" patient with an ice pick, inserted above the tear duct, with the help of course from a ... hammer! Nothing to ensure the proper conduct of individuals, be they children or adults demented stubborn ... The
PROZAC IS SAFE?
A detailed study of history "hidden" psychiatry can be found in the extensive article "The Hidden Side of the Psychiatry written by Gary Null, PhD This article makes reference to another very interesting book," Talking Back to Prozac: What Doctors Aren 't Telling You About Today's Most Controversial Drug "(Back to Prozac: The doctors he has not spoken about this controversial drug present) of Dr Peter Breggin.
Prozac, trade name of fluoxetine, according to reports that author could not have been released by the FDA (U.S. surveillance) as the best preliminary results have been achieved when fluoxetine was used with an additional sedative. Further studies were made with insufficient samples of patients. Anyway Prozac seems to be involved with a significant number of problems, from overstimulation (excitement, anxiety, insomnia) and a subsequent worsening of depression.
The problems become more complicated by the question of motor disorders, which may akathisia (restlessness), already well known psychiatric symptom in patients treated with anti-psychotic to an insoluble problem as dystonia and DISCINECIA LATE. These side effects are not co-transitional situations, but scars neuro-functional intractable. This problem is well known with the use of the medicines used for schizophrenia, and often come up with several years of use (users of haloperidol or chlorpromazine, for example). Unfortunately we are only now finding patients with a sufficiently long number of years of use fluoxetine, to find that irremediable problem.
chemical imbalance BRAIN
Gary Null in his article also speaks of the biological question. Usually patients are advised (or threatened?) On the chemical imbalance in the brain to yield to the use of a medication that helps your mind and emotions work better.
The concept of chemical imbalance was first exposed to the public in 1963, in Life magazine. This concept was developed from the studies that were conducted on the effects of psychotropic drugs like LSD, in various types of users. The reasoning was simple: if a drug induces a series of psychological changes in a normal individual probably internal imbalances in the brain would explain the emotional and behavioral problems in people in general. Pursuit of the chemical equilibrium should be the ambition of effective therapeutics. This led to the medicalization of all human behavior, seen as inappropriate in the coming decades. According
some writers, this procedure was the basis for the use of Ritalin in "problem children". The fact that amphetamine seem to help some students to be more flexible in the school confirmed the diagnosis of ADHD. Because there is something chemical that helps, then there really is a sickness. This put in the background, all other aspects of any problem. It is curious to observe that children with inattention and / or hyperactivity appear to have no difficulty in learning to play video games or spend hours on the computer. Not even doing any activity that really interests them. It is also interesting to note that the difficult social and family environments of these same children are not richly laden with psychological uncomfortable. When, formerly, the children spent a shift at another school and turn around in the street playing with other children, making them more "arts", few parents and teachers complained of children with this type of problem. The modern world is a model of evolution: the children of today take painkillers. Obviously because the models of adult happiness today should be a "virtuous" stimulus for the children reach maturity.
Dr. Breggin argues that if the person had no chemical imbalance, with the use of fluoxetine it certainly will be. He believes that the medication causes an over-stimulation of serotonin receptors in the brain. But the fact is that the situation prior to the use of the drug would already be an attempt to search for an equilibrium state. Thus the body in an attempt to return to the previous stage, simply disables or eliminates some of the receptor neurons. The Lilly, who launched the drug, showed no studies about the reversibility of this recognized problem. The fact that the continuous use injury typically generate a scar as tardive dyskinesia, obviously makes us believe that this loss of receptors is irreversible.
This author reports that faced the laboratory under oath, and there was no rebuttal to reports that showed in his book.
know that sometimes the use of medication can be very useful for the immediate relief of psychiatric symptoms very unpleasant. But not We must remember that usually means the medicine will not cure any emotional problem that can possibly be facing. Ordinarily all people go through really rough situations in their lives, and often the final settlement of certain issues may go against their own set of beliefs and aspirations of that individual. Most people who undergo "mental illness" suffer as a result of this process for challenging personal crises. If the premises to conduct social and family is a basic limiting in expressing their great adaptability, the individual may actually be very difficult to overcome certain situations suffering.
VIRTUES OF REMEDIES
remedies can reduce anxiety, aid sleep, improve cognitive performance, but they are just tools to qualify the potential of an individual to redefine their decisions, to trace its path, and draw up new choices . The future scenario is the result of meeting the environmental objective rewards and often subjective offered by the environment they live in, or that she chooses to live. But still, at worst, will result from any lack of those same rewards environment where you can not escape. In this case the modern world will offer their drugs, increasingly modern, such as a cutting edge solution ... And a psychiatric diagnosis, and a soft mattress that science can justify his fear and his inability to change!
Alias, on this notion of progress we have experienced a strange paradox. The more the world moves more people need medicine and psychiatric treatment. U.S. spending on psychiatric treatment rose from 3.2 billion in 1969 to 33.1 billion in 1994. An increase of 934%, far exceeding the population growth. But already in 1999 were 80 billion dollars! Without being ironic, surely, must be happy drug manufacturers.
Will the evolution of mankind, is that it actually happens, should not generate a world with a progressively smaller number of mental problems? Is that progress should not reward those with better health and less use of medications? Or will the heavenly panorama, which was designed for our future, it would be a fantasy induced by the use of euphoric and sedative, which will make us all anesthetized enough to not explode the myth that the modern world is, thanks to technology, a better world?
Brazil José Carlos Peixoto - 210207
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