Handbook suggests that deviations from 'normality' are disorders

Peter De Vries, America's wittiest novelist, died 17 years ago, but his discernment of this country's cultural foibles still amazes. In a 1983 novel, he spotted the tendency of America's therapeutic culture to medicalize character flaws:

Handbook suggests that deviations from 'normality' are disorders

"We've Got Issues": Big Pharma might not be lying

A hundred years ago it was rarely diagnosed in children. In the intervening timespan the number and type of diagnoses have exploded. Moreover, the number and type of treatments have also exploded. The favored treatment usually involves powerful medications with serious side effects. Big Pharma has made a fortune from these medications and is constantly searching for new variations to patent and sell.

"We've Got Issues": Big Pharma might not be lying

Expect a new Prevnar vaccine at your child's next visit

Expect a new Prevnar vaccine at your child's next visit

Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Prevnar 13, an expanded version of the current Prevnar vaccine that protects against bacterial infections that can lead to pneumonia and meninigitis.

Psych meds and children—what parents need to know

Psych meds and children—what parents need to know

We’ve all heard the stories in the news about Rebecca Riley, the 4-year-old who died in 2006 of an overdose of psychiatric medication. She made her first trip to a psychiatrist when she was two, because she was active and had trouble sleeping. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was only three–her ten-year-old brother and four-year-old sister had already been diagnosed with the same—and put on three different medications. By the time she died, she was taking more than ten pills a day. She got sick, and her mother, who was recently convicted in her death, gave her extra pills to make her sleep. Rebecca never woke up.

Doing an About-Face on ‘Overmedicated’ Children

Doing an About-Face on ‘Overmedicated’ Children

Picture a cupped hand. A capsule and a pill lie in the palm. The hand is extended toward a small child. The caption reads, “Take your vitamins.”

Mom's antidepressants may delay baby's first steps

When pregnant women take antidepressants, it sometimes causes their babies to hit developmental milestones late, Danish researchers reported on Monday.

More >> Mom's antidepressants may delay baby's first steps

Are mandatory vaccinations acts of violence against children?

This article refers to the parody cartoon found at (http://www.naturalnews.com/028211_v…). This parody cartoon grew out of the idea that vaccines are “shots” that are being increasingly forced upon children and teens. At times, these vaccines are enforced at gunpoint or with the presence of vicious guard dogs — as happened in Maryland two years ago when a court judge ordered thousands of parents to bring their children to court for vaccination or face gunpoint arrest and possible jail time. (http://www.naturalnews.com/022267.html)

More >> Are mandatory vaccinations acts of violence against children?

Questions posed over ADHD drugs

Long-term use of drugs such as Ritalin and dexamphetamine may not improve the social and emotional well-being or academic performance of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a study funded by the Western Australian government has concluded.

More >> Questions posed over ADHD drugs

PsychRights' Medicaid Fraud Initiative Against Psychiatric Drugging of Children & Youth.

The International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, Inc. is a nonprofit organization concerned with the increasing use of psychiatric drugs on children. The 2010 ICSPP Distinguished Lecture Series will begin Feb. 24 with a legal webinar presented by Attorney James Gottstein on PsychRights' Medicaid Fraud Initiative Against Psychiatric Drugging of Children & Youth.

More >> PsychRights' Medicaid Fraud Initiative Against Psychiatric Drugging of Children & Youth.

Big Pharma researcher admits to faking dozens of research studies for Pfizer, Merck

Big Pharma researcher admits to faking dozens of research studies for Pfizer, Merck

It's being called the largest research fraud in medical history. Dr. Scott Reuben, a former member of Pfizer's speakers' bureau, has agreed to plead guilty to faking dozens of research studies that were published in medical journals.

Questions posed over ADHD drugs

Questions posed over ADHD drugs

Long-term use of drugs such as Ritalin and dexamphetamine may not improve the social and emotional well-being or academic performance of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a study funded by the Western Australian government has concluded.

Prescription medication addiction affects mainly ages 12-17 in Arkansas

Pain can be a serious health problem. Many patients live with chronic pain and rely on medication to help them deal with it. In Today's Health, Dr. T. Glenn Pait talks about how meds used to treat those symptoms, cause problems of their own.

More >> Prescription medication addiction affects mainly ages 12-17 in Arkansas

Study questions widely-used ADHD drugs

Study questions widely-used ADHD drugs

An Australian study has revealed a "significant lack of effect" of conventional drugs used to treat ADHD, a finding that surprised at least one of its researchers.

FDA clears hypertension drug for children, teens

FDA clears hypertension drug for children, teens7

Daiichi Sankyo Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the hypertension treatment Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) for children and adolescents aged 6 to 16 years. Benicar was originally approved in 2002 to treat hypertension in adults.

How can we save our country from Ritalin generation (adhd drug)?

More >> How can we save our country from Ritalin generation (adhd drug)?

Oxytocin-Autism Study: the Kind of Evidence-Based Research Parents Need

Oxytocin may help improve social behavior in people with autism, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. There's a lot this study can't tell us; researchers studied just 13 young adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome, and it tested their social responses only in the laboratory, with a ball-tossing game and a measurement of how responsive they were to social cues in pictures of human faces.

More >> Oxytocin-Autism Study: the Kind of Evidence-Based Research Parents Need

Kids on ADHD drugs `poor at school'

CHILDREN with ADHD who use prescription drugs to manage their condition are 10 times more likely to perform poorly at school than ADHD kids who avoid medication, a new report reveals.

The report also finds stimulant drugs such as Ritalin and dexamphetamine make no significant difference to the level of depression, self-perception and social functioning of a 14-year-old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

More >> Kids on ADHD drugs `poor at school'

ADHD symptoms caused by lead exposure, new study claims

What causes the frequently diagnosed behavioral problem in children known as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that leads to countless youngsters being given side-effect laden stimulant drugs? Research has focused on genes and, more recently, on the idea that multiple environmental triggers could be the cause. For example, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a recent British study indicates that certain food additives like artificial colors or preservatives could cause ADHD symptoms in some children.

ADHD symptoms caused by lead exposure, new study claims

When the Best Rx Is No Rx

When Latonia Best's teenaged kids were little, doctors always prescribed antibiotics for their ear infections. But when her youngest son, 5-year-old Justin, was diagnosed with one recently, she heard something new: The pediatrician asked if she wanted to try waiting a few days to see if he would get better on his own.

More >> When the Best Rx Is No Rx

Generation X or Generation Rx

Generation X or Generation Rx

Alaska psychiatrists accused of wrongly medicating children

Alaska psychiatrists accused of wrongly medicating children

An Alaska mental health advocacy group that has spent years battling the pharmaceutical industry over medication is suing more than a dozen Alaska child psychiatrists, saying the doctors unnecessarily drugged children and committed Medicaid fraud.

The dangers of false certainty

The dangers of false certainty

We all -- physicians and patients -- must face up to our unavoidable ignorance on medical issues, and still try to make wise decisions

Can a pill cure intellectual disabilities?

The ability to improve an intellectually disabled person’s IQ sounds like science fiction, and not so long ago it was – but that is changing.

More >> Can a pill cure intellectual disabilities?

This Might Hurt

Anna Dragsbaeck has worked quietly for years to build support for expanding the state’s immunization registry, a database of vaccines given to Texans. Now the executive director of the Texas-based Immunization Partnership is ready for the spotlight: She and her allies are asking lawmakers to include all Texans in the registry. They’ll make their case before an influential Senate committee this month — and face an impassioned and formidable group of privacy proponents and anti-immunization parents.

More >> This Might Hurt

Massachusetts Mom Found Guilty of Daughter's Fatal Overdose

Massachusetts Mom Found Guilty of Daughter's Fatal Overdose

A Massachusetts woman was convicted of second-degree murder Tuesday in the fatal prescription drug overdose of her 4-year-old daughter.

Attorney to Sue Doctors Who Misuse Drugs on Children

It’s true that the drug industry was hard hit last year with some pretty hefty fines for the illegal off-label promotion of drugs — $1.4 billion against Eli Lilly for its off-label promotion of Zyprexa and $2.3 billion against Pfizer for doing the same with several drugs. But such fines, many say, are still considered the cost of doing business in an industry that raked in close to $300 billion in U.S. drug sales in 2008 (and more in 2009), according to IMS Health Reports.

More >> Attorney to Sue Doctors Who Misuse Drugs on Children

Considering the Dangers of Not Medicating Children Who Really Need It

People are pretty vocal about what they perceive to be the dangers of diagnosing and medicating children who have psychiatric disorders, and you can find plenty of horror stories, including the case of Rebecca Riley, but what about the dangers of not medicating children who fail to respond to non-medication interventions and could really benefit with the right diagnosis and medications?

More >> Considering the Dangers of Not Medicating Children Who Really Need It

Fatal Misunderstandings About Reactive Attachment Disorder

When I began this blog, I chose the name "child myths" because of my concern about misunderstandings that are potentially harmful to children. As some readers know, my interest in this issue began some years ago with a study of so-called Attachment Therapy and its role in the death of Candace Newmaker in 2000 (described in Mercer, J., Sarner,L., & Rosa, L. [2003], "Attachment Therapy On Trial". Westport, CT: Praeger). The fact that other children have also died at the hands of parents acting on the instructions of unconventional therapists has also motivated me to pursue the correction of "child myths".

More >> Fatal Misunderstandings About Reactive Attachment Disorder

Oregon shouldn't permit psychologists to prescribe medication

Under pressure from out-of-state interests, our Legislature is about to consider passage of Senate Bill 1046, enabling psychologists to prescribe medication. This bill would jeopardize the safety of our citizens while creating unnecessary costs. The work group proposing the bill held only five sessions, without public testimony. Remarkably, one member of the work group was from California (and required a temporary Oregon license to participate) and heads a distance-learning post-doctoral psychology training program in clinical psychopharmacology that stands to benefit from the bill's passage. I hope that the Legislature will defer judgment on such an important issue to a regular session during which full and open testimony can be offered.

More >> Oregon shouldn't permit psychologists to prescribe medication

Denver boy, 9, died after state-benefits error denied him meds

A Montbello mother says her 9-year-old son's death from severe asthma could have been prevented had Denver Human Services resolved problems with his Medicaid pharmacy benefits.

More >> Denver boy, 9, died after state-benefits error denied him meds

Girls with ADHD show other mental health risks

Girls with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are more likely than their peers to develop depression, anxiety, eating disorders or other psychiatric problems by the time they reach adulthood, a new study suggests.

More >> Girls with ADHD show other mental health risks

Vaccine Study Retracted, and Causes of Autism Remain Elusive

In 1998, the medical journal The Lancet published a study suggesting that the childhood MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine was tied to autism. On Tuesday, the journal retracted the study, saying in an editorial that key aspects of the paper—in which Andrew Wakefield reported that 12 children he studied had experienced a sudden onset of autism symptoms after getting MMR shots—were false.

More >> Vaccine Study Retracted, and Causes of Autism Remain Elusive

Parents React to Autism Study Retraction

A prestigious medical journal says a controversial study linking autism to a vaccine is flawed. The retraction by The Lancet is a big blow to many parents who believe the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is indirectly to blame for their child's condition.

Problems Faced By Children With Prescription Drugs

Sometimes physicians prescribe drugs which are not required and which are not permitted for children. Drugs, which have dangerous side effects and are toxic in nature, can lead to death. The prescription of psychotropic drugs to children is considered as one the most faulty features of medical practice.

More >> Problems Faced By Children With Prescription Drugs

Sports coach spiked children's food and drink with drugs so he could molest them, court told

A SPORTS coach plied children with spiked milkshakes and drug-laced macaroni so he could molest and film them, a court has heard.

More >> Sports coach spiked children's food and drink with drugs so he could molest them, court told

Zyprexa Side Effects for Children Lead to Revised FDA Warnings

The FDA has required the drug maker Eli Lilly to update the warning label for their popular antipsychotic Zyprexa about potential weight-gain side effects among children.

More >> Zyprexa Side Effects for Children Lead to Revised FDA Warnings

Children and Prescription Drugs

Prescription medication can manage many serious medical and mental illnesses. But if not handled properly, it can also be the cause of just as many and more problems because of side effects, misuse and abuse, and addiction. Unfortunately, children are often the ones who suffer the long-term consequences from prescription drugs.

More >> Children and Prescription Drugs

Fewer children drug poisoned

The number of children admitted to hospital with drug poisoning has fallen to its lowest level in four years, new figures show.

More >> Fewer children drug poisoned

Diabetes Drug Helps Dieting Teens Lose Weight

A medication used to treat type 2 diabetes appears to help overweight teenagers lose weight when combined with a program designed to help them change their lifestyle habits, researchers report.

More >> Diabetes Drug Helps Dieting Teens Lose Weight

ER physician says overdose killed Rebecca Riley

On Thursday, a Children’s Hospital pathologist said Rebecca Riley could have died from a combination of pneumonia and toxic amounts of a prescription drug. But an emergency room doctor from the same hospital was not hesitant on Friday.

More >> ER physician says overdose killed Rebecca Riley