First, DEATHS among drug users have hit a record high in Scotland, increasing by a fifth in 2011, the latest government figures reveal. Last year 584 people died from drug use, which means that drugs now account for one in every 100 deaths in Scotland. The heroin substitute, methadone, was at the heart of the … Continue reading Two stories on methadone
Category: Treatment
Methadone’s cognitive effects
Another study on methadone's cognitive effects: In one study, on the day after the last exposure to methadone, there was a significant reduction (around 70 per cent) in the level of a signal molecule which is important in learning and memory, in both the hippocampus and in the frontal area of the brain. This … Continue reading Methadone’s cognitive effects
The adjacent possible and hope
I heard a radio show this morning about where ideas come from. They interviewed a guy who wrote a book and gave a TED talk on the topic. During the interview he discussed the concept of the adjacent possible and it's importance in forming new ideas. During the interview, he described it as the building … Continue reading The adjacent possible and hope
Rights Group says U.S.-backed study exploited China prisoners
Not sure what to make of this: A Chinese research team's study of drug addiction treatments published inScience on 13 April is coming under fire from Human Rights Watch (HRW), the New York City-based advocacy group. This week's issue of Science contains a letter from the group accusing the Chinese team of not making it clear whether their … Continue reading Rights Group says U.S.-backed study exploited China prisoners
We’re not alone
Pat Deegan linked to a report on the state of treatment for schizophrenia for medicaid recipients. Although there was some state-to-state variation in the findings, the study found that, while more than 90 percent of beneficiaries with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder received an evidence-based medication during the year, only 61 percent of those beneficiaries continuously … Continue reading We’re not alone
“a life beyond imagination, but it was fleeting”
So sad. Thoughts from someone who went to treatment with a British heiress who recently died of addiction. They both stayed sober for more than 10 years and both relapsed. (Warning: I don't like the writer's use of the 'r' word.) So I got lucky, and Eva didn’t. I’m sure her parents and her people … Continue reading “a life beyond imagination, but it was fleeting”
Following the evidence
Ouch: Abstract: This paper raises the question about whether the data on the medications we call antidepressants justify the label of antidepressant. The authors argue that a true antidepressant should be clearly superior to placebo, should offer a risk/benefit balance that exceeds that of alternative treatments, should not increase suicidality, should not increase anxiety and … Continue reading Following the evidence
GlaxoSmithKline’s corruption
The details are simultaneously exactly what you'd expect and shocking. And some people wonder why we're reluctant to embrace the latest and greatest pharmacological fad. Keep all of this in mind next time someone suggests that medicalizing addiction treatment will improve professionalism, ethics and reliance on scientific evidence. Sham advisory boards: Glaxo also used sham … Continue reading GlaxoSmithKline’s corruption
The medical model and recovery
Yesterday's post about the disease model and recovery got me thinking about complaints that treatment is not medical enough. It's worth noting that mental health treatment has a medical model and these patients believe it's been harmful to them. What they want is something more like the holistic lifestyle approach, peer support and talk therapy that one … Continue reading The medical model and recovery
“Disease” and recovery
“Once I became my diagnosis, there was no one left to recover.” Yesterday's Pat Deegan post led me to Dr. Daniel Fisher's work on mental illness recovery. He promotes an "empowerment" model of recovery that he contrasts with a "rehabilitation" model of recovery. According to this vision, one is capable of recovering from the mental … Continue reading “Disease” and recovery
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