Steeds meer ouders komen in verzet tegen de
medicatie bij ADHD. Met name Ritalin ligt onder vuur vanwege enkele sterfgevallen in
Amerika. Er zijn alternatieven zoals bijvoorbeeld neurofeedback therapie.
Ritalin heeft mogelijk lange
termijn gevolgen voor de ontwikkelen van de hersenen
Pediatric ritalin use may affect developing
brain, new study suggests
Use of the attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) drug Ritalin by young children may cause long-term changes in the
developing brain, suggests a new study of very young rats by a research team at Weill
Cornell Medical College in New York City.
Het nieuwe boek "Genezen
genotsmiddelen" is eigenlijk een vervolg op "ADHD-medicatie Medische
megablunder". Dadelijk na het verschijnen van het eerste boek moest de schrijver
ervan zich verantwoorden voor de Orde van Apothekers op een klacht van de Orde van
Geneesheren en van drie psychiaters.
Maar precies op de dag van het verschijnen
voor de Orde, publiceerde in de VS de Food and Drug Administration een 'dringende
mededeling' , 'for immediate release' zoals dat heette en de boodschap erop neer dat de
stelling van 'megablunder' volledig werd onderschreven door dat hoge Amerikaanse
agentschap.
Want vanaf nu zullen dokters de patiënten
moeten informeren over dezelfde gevaren waarvoor Haesbrouck in het boek ook waarschuwt,
waardoor psychiaters de verhalen van de auteur niet meer als kwakkelverhalen kunnen van de
hand doen. Deze tekst situeert de evolutie na het verschijnen van het eerste boek ( dit is
een fragment uit het boek). Eind januari 2007 besliste men in Israël dat het gebruik van
methylfenidaat ( Ritalin en Concerta) aan banden moest gelegd worden.
Bill Would Limit Use of Ritalin
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 / 4 Shevat 5767
(IsraelNN.com) MK Yoram Marciano
(Labor) proposed a law Monday that would severely restrict the rights of parents to
medicate their children with Ritalin. In recent years, critics have accused parents or
school authorities of seeking to have children who are overactive prescribed Ritalin in
order to "calm them down," and the drug has been implicated in a number of
negative youth behaviors.
The law would require a lengthy
registration and supervision process by the Health Ministry for any child being given
Ritalin, with preference being given to other methods of dealing with the conditions for
which it would otherwise be prescribed.
Marciano attributed the recent upswing in the number of children being given Ritalin in
Israel to increased sales activity by drug companies.
"The drug companies have launched
a massive campaign recently to convince psychiatrists, doctors, teachers and parents of
the wonders of Ritalin - while many experts in countries around the world believe there is
nothing wonderful about this drug at all," he said.
En toen begin februari 2007 ik documenten van FDA ( Food and Drug Administration)
commissies wou gebruiken om te publiceren in mijn boek, vroeg ik daarvoor om toelating. Ik
kreeg die toelating meteen, op een zondag en zelfs na 20 minuten. Ik had erbij verteld dat
ik als apotheker het werkingsmechanisme van de harddrugs op het zenuwstelsel in en boek
zou uitleggen en ook de manier waarop die harddrugs kinderen kalmer laten lijken en meer
geconcentreerd omdat die kinderen chronisch adrenalinestoten krijgen toegediend.
Een jaar eerder hadden twee
wetenschappelijke commissies het FDA als Overheidsorgaan gevraagd om zware maatregelen te
nemen tegen het overmatig gebruik en misbruik van die stoffen, nu juist omdat die
commissies rapporten hadden over :
1) abnormale en veel voorkomende psychotische nevenwerkingen, en ,
2) hartinfarcten en sterfgevallen ermee.
Maatregelen werden toen niet genomen omdat
, zoals de pers toen schreef :
Drug industry mobilizes to defend ADHD
market.
Maar ook de 'ernstige' wetenschappelijke
pers was het niet ontgaan dat corruptie en collusie het beleid op dat gezondheidsniveau
stuurde, vandaar dat The Lancet in het juninummer van 2006 heel tactvol een niet mis te
verstane waarschuwing liet horen.
The surest way to compromise public
confidence in paediatric research is to see the EU and FDA incentives as opportunities for
marketing rather than research.
De geloofwaardigheid stond op het spel,vooral ook omdat Lilly op een heel grove manier
EMEA (European Medecin Agency) hetzelfde jaar met veel 'omkoopgeld' of 'invloed' liet
verklaren dat van alle SSRI's alleen maar Prozac veilig genoeg zou zijn om voortaan ook
aan kinderen vanaf 8 jaar voorgeschreven te worden. Terwijl de lijsten met 'ongevallen'
door Prozac zoal niet de grootste zijn, dan toch verschrikkelijk indrukwekkend. Prozac
moest opnieuw maagdelijk schoon gewassen worden, nu juist omdat men Strattera voor
kinderen wou gaan inzetten. Immers de actieve metaboliet voor beiden is dezelfde.
In februari 2007 had FDA dus een
vergadering gepland om hetgeen als werkingsmechanisme nu toch bekend zou gemaakt worden,
op een of andere manier te kunnen 'opvangen'. Maar 'een en ander' versnelde ook de
'dringende' mededeling door FDA.
Op 21 februari publiceerde men dan toch
hals over kop de maatregelen, die men eigenlijk op 22 en 23 maart 2006 had moeten nemen.
Daags nadien verscheen in de Amerikaanse pers :
The FDA has been criticized for failing
to notify the public sooner.
Kan nu heel goed zijn dat een en ander puur
toevallig is geweest. Want precies op diezelfde 21 februari moest ik mij bij de Orde van
Apothekers verantwoorden op een klacht van de Orde van Geneesheren en van drie
psychiaters. Menige kritische toeschouwer sprak dan ook van een fortuinlijke timing van
die mededeling door FDA. Immers, op de ganse aardbol was een betere pleitbezorger dan FDA
voor mijn zaak helemaal niet te vinden.
[1] The Lancet2006;367:1953
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68854-5
[2] http://www.ssristories.com/index.php?sort=date
Video - The Drugging of Our
Children - Trailer
Alternatief voor Ritalin -
Neurofeedback therapie
While Ritalin has been shown to be
effective, it also can cause troubling side effects. In Ben's case, his mother said, he
would bend over and run into people head-first. Piszczek, a registered nurse, decided to
try an alternative treatment for her son called EEG biofeedback Like Ritalin, biofeedback
is not without controversy. Also known as neurotherapy, biofeedback is practiced by
psychologists, physicians and others who help change brainwave frequencies with a computer
and an electroencephalogram - the same device hospitals use to identify abnormalities in
the brain.
After 20 sessions with Wadsworth
psychologist Glen Martin, Ben has shown improvement that has stunned his parents and
teachers. He pays more attention to his parents and Ins five siblings than ever before.
Ritalin (=methylphenidate) is the most important medicine with which ADHD is fought with.
The American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) qualified it as a 'schedule 2 drug',
which other countries endorse. That's the same category as for example cocaine and
amphetamines ('speed' as the Americans call it). They are drugs with a high danger of
addiction and misuse. The World Health Organization came 30 years ago to the same
conclusion. Ritalin has strong chemical similarities with amphetamines and has also the
same side effects. Misuse of such a strong drug is evident. Ritalin stands highlisted as
stolen prescription drugs in the US. In the streets it gets sold as 'Vitamin R' or
'R-Ball' and they grind it to inhale the powder or dissolve it in water. In a survey among
44,000 students in Indiana, 7 percent reported using Ritalin recreationally at least once
in the previous year and 2.5 percent reported using it monthly or more often.
Several drugs widely used to treat
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder should carry a prominent "black box"
warning because of reports that they may have caused sudden deaths or serious
complications, a federal expert advisory panel recommended yesterday.
The proposal to require a warning on
medications such as Adderall and Ritalin took the Food and Drug Administration,
pharmaceutical companies and advocates by surprise. The panel voted 8 to 7 to call for the
labeling change after reviewing reports of several dozen patients who suffered cardiac
arrest, toxic reactions or sudden death while using the medications.
Info for Parents who are pressured to diagnose and drug their children for
ADD or ADHD. Story behind our Sons death caused from ADHD Drug, Ritalin.
We were threatened by the school social
worker that If we didn't comply with their diagnosis and take him to the doctor and get
him on some Ritalin, that we could be charged with neglecting his educational and
emotional needs. They explained ADHD as though it was a objective disorder. Well I have
sense done much research to find out that is a bunch of hog wash. I have created the
website www.ritalindeath.com to inform
parents of the truth behind ADHD.
With the horrible experience of losing my
son from the medication Ritalin. It has caused me to get to the bottom of it, and find out
what the heck is going on, and see what I can do to help other families from going through
the same hell we are now living. My site tells our story in detail, with much information
that I have compiled. I hope that you will conceder putting my website on yours as a link?
I feel that it is very important that
parents get more information than just a little selective information paid for by drug
companies.
According to Dr. Ljuba Dragovic, the Chief
Pathologist of Oakland County, Michigan, upon autopsy, Matthew's heart showed clear signs
of small vessel damage caused from the use of Methylphenidate (Ritalin).
*The certificate of death reads:
Death caused from Long Term Use of
Methylphenidate, (Ritalin)
I was told by one of the medical examiners
that a full-grown man's heart weighs about 350 grams and that Matthew's heart's weight was
about 402 grams. Dr. Dragovic said this type of heart damage is smoldering and not easily
detected with the standard test done for prescription refills. The standard test usually
consists of blood work, listening to the heart, and questions about school behaviors,
sleeping and eating habits.
"Black Box" Warning
Recommended For Psychiatry's ADHD Drugs
On Thursday, February 9, 2006, an advisory
committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urged the most serious FDA
warning, the "black box", be placed on all drugs prescribed to treat the
so-called psychiatric disorder Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The
recommendation followed evidence that these drugs are linked to deaths and cardiovascular
problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
The FDA's database documents 25 deaths and 54 cases of serious cardiovascular problems in
children and adults treated with ADHD drugs.
These cases included heart attack, stroke (sudden loss of brain function), hypertension
(high blood pressure), palpitations (rapid, strong heart beats) and arrhythmia (irregular
heart beats).
Experts estimate that only 1% to 10% of serious drug reactions are reported to the FDA, so
the deaths and serious adverse effects are undoubtedly much higher.
There are six million U.S. children who have been prescribed ADHD drugs including Ritalin,
Adderall and Concerta. Government figures show that about 10% of all 10-year-old boys in
the U.S. are on these drugs. Prescriptions of ADHD drugs for adults has increased 90% in
the last three years.
Brian Beaumont, President of the Vancouver chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human
Rights stated, "Adderall, methylphenidates (sold as Ritalin), Concerta, Methylin and
Metadate are all drugs prescribed for a condition know as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder but the fact is; there is nothing in any medical or scientific literature that
confirms the existence of (ADHD). It was invented by a handful of psychiatrists by a show
of hands at an American Psychiatric Association meeting in the 80's. Since that time
psychiatry has turned it's invention into a multi-billion dollar industry. Thus,
psychiatrists are labeling and drugging a non-existent malady which are indictable
offences, fraud and child abuse."
The advisory committee's recommendation for the "black box" warning took FDA
officials by surprise. The committee's original purpose was only to recommend ways to
study the effects of ADHD drugs. However, after reviewing the deadly effects of the drugs,
the committee urged immediate action.
Peter Gross, chairman of the advisory committee, stated the reason for the recommended
warnings were, "No. 1, because of the seriousness of the side effects - the sudden
deaths. No. 2, there is a sense maybe the diagnosis of ADHD is being applied where it
shouldn't be applied."
Advisory committee member Dr. Steven Nissen, a cardiologist, explained the urgency,
"This is out-of-control use of drugs that have profound cardiovascular consequences.
We have got a potential public health crisis. I think patients and families need to be
made aware of these concerns."
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
Address: 402 West Pender Street
Zipcode: v5r5v9
City: Vancouver
Country: Canada
Tel: 604-689-4417
Fax: 604-689-4493
url: www.cchr.org
The ADHD
Fraud
Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD has been an adult
& child neurologist, in private practice, for 35 years. Making "disease"
(real diseases--epilepsy, brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, etc.) or "no disease"
(emotional, psychological, psychiatric) diagnoses daily, he has discovered and described
real, bona fide diseases.
It is this particular medical and
scientific background that has led him to view the "epidemic" of one particular
"disease"--Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)--with increasing
alarm. Dr. Baughman describes this himself. Referring to psychiatry, he says:
"They made a list of the most common
symptoms of emotional discomfiture of children; those which bother teachers and parents
most, and in a stroke that could not be more devoid of science or Hippocratic
motive--termed them a 'disease.' Twenty five years of research, not deserving of the term
'research.,' has failed to validate ADD/ADHD as a disease. Tragically--the
"epidemic" having grown from 500 thousand in 1985 to between 5 and 7 million
today--this remains the state of the 'science' of ADHD."
In addition to scientific articles that
have appeared in leading national and international medical journals, Dr. Baughman has
testified for victimized parents and children in ADHD/Ritalin legal cases, writes for the
print media and appears on talk radio shows, always making the point that ADHD is
fraudulent--a creation of the psychiatric-pharmaceutical cartel, without which they would
have nothing to prescribe their dangerous, addictive, Schedule II, stimulants for--namely,
Ritalin (methylphenindate), Dexedrine (dextro-amphetamine), Adderall (mixed dextro- and
levo-amphetamine) and, Gradumet, and Desoxyn (both of which are methamphetamine, 'speed,'
'ice').
The entire country, including all 5-7
million with the ADHD diagnosis today, have been deceived and victimized; deprived of
their informed consent rights and drugged--for profit! It must be stopped. Now!
Ritalin Debate:
Some Experts Doubt Existence of ADHD
The debate over attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the drugging of children diagnosed with it has been
rekindled in Australia, one of several countries to have followed the U.S. trend over
recent decades.
A youth conference in the eastern city of
Brisbane this week was told that no proof has been found that ADHD exists at all.
U.S. psychologist Dr. Bob Jacobs told the
Youth Affairs Network Queensland conference that doctors and pharmaceutical companies had
turned behavioral problems in children into a disorder.
He voiced concern that misdiagnoses
resulted in youngsters being prescribed powerful drugs like Ritalin, which may affect
their long-term mental and physical development.
Medicine Goes to School: Teachers as
Sickness Brokers for ADHD
How Drug Companies Influence Teachers
As teachers have some agency in diagnosing ADHD, and may in fact contest the diagnosis,
the pharmaceutical industry has an interest in directing teachers toward medical
treatment. Pharmaceutical companies have been able to exploit the Internet to access
teachers and to influence their brokerage role. The approach to teachers tends to mirror
strategies used to familiarise doctors with pharmaceuticals.
The pharmaceutical company as disinterested
purveyor of education
The drug promotion that masquerades as professional education is such a fixture in the
medical domain that many universities train medical students to critique promotional
material. Both Shire (manufacturer of Adderell) and Novartis (manufacturer of Ritalin)
have established educational websites separate from their own industry sites, each of
which contains specific resources for teachers. On a page entitled “If parents
ask…,” Novartis suggests responses teachers might make to concerned parents:
“Make it clear to them that it is
important for them—and their child—to understand and follow the doctor's medical
advice about medication and other therapies for ADHD. ADHD is a serious condition that may
require the child to be on medication and undergo counselling for a long duration
Report on the Escalating International Warnings on Psychiatric Drugs
In 1990, the Citizens Commission on Human
Rights (CCHR) asked American psychiatrists and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to
issue warnings about the latest psychiatric drug causing violence and suicide: the
antidepressant Prozac. CCHR filed complaints and provided evidence. In response, on
September 20, 1991, the FDA ordered an advisory committee to hold a hearing to investigate
the safety and effectiveness of antidepressant drugs. A panel of nine psychiatrists, many
with financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, heard chilling testimony from medical
experts as well as the victims of these drugs—and did nothing.
It wasn’t until 13 years later, on
October 15, 2004, that the FDA finally ordered pharmaceutical companies to add a
“black box” warning to antidepressants, saying the drugs could cause suicidal
thoughts and actions in children and teenagers. It took nine months for the FDA to issue
another advisory warning doctors to watch for suicidal behavior in adults taking
antidepressants.
The FDA advisories vindicated CCHR’s
allegations and patient and family testimony in 1991. However millions of men, women and
children were needlessly subjected to dangerous drugs for more than a decade. Now, with
controversy growing over the previously undisclosed dangers of psychiatric drugs,
international warnings are being issued at escalating rates, citing side effects of drug
dependence, addiction, mania, hostility, aggression, psychosis, suicide and violence.
If ADHD is a physical illness, how can it
be that a psychologist can diagnosis it? Would a psychologist diagnose heart disease,
diabetes or cancer? This may be undeniable proof that "mental illness" is not
physical in nature.
The public must demand full informed
consent in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of "mental illness". Patients
must be given complete testing and competent medical care. Full informed consent would
include the true statement that "mental illness" like ADHD may be caused by
genuine physical illness and is treatable by medical, non-psychiatric means. It would
inform patients and parents that a label of "mental illness" can be a permanent
mark on a person's record and may bar them from certain career choices. Also, full
informed consent would let parents know that the drugs themselves create a whole new set
of problems and dangers, and can cause irreversible damage to the physically, emotionally
and mentally developing child
In its recent infatuation with symptomatic,
push-button remedies, psychiatry has lost its way not only intellectually but spiritually
and morally. Even when it is not actually doing damage to the people it is supposed to
help,…it is encouraging among doctors and patients alike the fraudulent and dangerous
fantasy that life's every passing 'symptom' can be clinically diagnosed and, once
diagnosed, alleviated if not eliminated by pharmacological intervention.
Paul R. McHugh
Professor of Psychiatry,
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
In 2002, The Center for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) gave $750,000 to Children and Adults with
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) group, to act
as a national resource center on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD).
Meanwhile, the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have severely criticized CHADD's financial ties to
the manufacturers of ADHD drugs heavily promoted by CHADD.
What your doctor may not know about:
How psychiatric drugs really work
Adverse drug effects on the brain and mind
The role of the FDA
Drug company practices
Recent medical and legal developments
Electroshock and psychosurgery
PERMISSION GRANTED TO REPRINT VITAL
INFORMATION ABOUT RITALIN,
ATTENTION DEFICIT-HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER,
And THE POLITICS BEHIND THE ADHD/RITALIN MOVEMENT
Summarized from Talking Back to Ritalin By
Peter R. Breggin, M.D.
For the purpose of alerting the public to
the dangers of stimulant drugs, this appendix to Talking Back to Ritalin by Peter R.
Breggin, M.D. may be reprinted without permission in unlimited numbers provided that no
fee is charged for the materials and that no profit is made from the distribution. The
source must be identified, and the material must be reporduced in its entirety, including
this page.
Talking Back to Ritalin by Peter Breggin,
M.D. is published by Common Courage Press, P.O. Box 702, Monroe, Maine 04951. Phone:
1-800-497-3207.
Several million children are being treated
with Ritalin and other stimulants on the grounds that they have attention
deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and suffer from inattention, hyperactivity, or
impulsivity. The stimulants include:
Ritalin (methylphenidate)
Dexedrine and DextroStat (dextroamphetamine or d-amphetamine)
Adderall (d-amphetamine and amphetamine mixture)
Desoxyn and Gradumet (methamphetamine)
Cylert (pemoline)
Except for Cylert, all of these drugs have nearly identical effects and side effects.
Ritalin and the amphetamines can for most purposes be considered one type of drug.
The number of children being drugged has
escalated several-fold in the last few years.
Ritalin and amphetamine have almost identical adverse effects on the brain, mind, and
behavior, including the production of drug-induced behavioral disorders, psychosis, mania,
drug abuse, and addiction.
Ritalin and amphetamine frequently cause the very same problems they are supposed to treat
inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
A large percentage of children become robotic, lethargic, depressed, or withdrawn on
stimulants.
Ritalin can cause permanent neurological tics including Tourettes syndrome.
Ritalin can retard growth in children by disrupting the cycles of growth hormone released
by the pituitary gland.
The recent finding that Ritalin can cause cancer in some animals was not taken seriously
enough by the drug company or the FDA.
Ritalin routinely causes gross malfunctions in the brain of the child. There is research
evidence from a few controlled scientific studies that Ritalin can cause shrinkage
(atrophy) or other permanent physical abnormalities in the brain.
Withdrawal from Ritalin can cause emotional suffering, including depression, exhaustion,
and suicide. This can make children seem psychiatrically disturbed and lead mistakenly to
increased doses of medication.
Ritalin is addictive and can become a gateway drug to other addictions. It is a common
drug of abuse among children and adults.
ADHD and Ritalin are American and Canadian medical fads. The U.S. uses 90% of the world s
Ritalin. Ciba Geneva Pharmaceuticals (also known as Ciba-Geigy Corporation), a division of
Novartis, is the manufacturer of Ritalin. It is trying to expand the Ritalin market to
Europe and the rest of the world.
Ritalin works by producing malfunctions in the brain rather than by improving brain
function. This is the only way it works.
Short-term, Ritalin has no positive effect
on a child s psychology or on academic performance and achievement. This is confirmed by
innumerable studies and by many professional reviews of the literature.
Longer-term, beyond several weeks, Ritalin has no positive effect on any aspect of a child
s life.
Labeling children with ADHD and treating
them with Ritalin can keep them out of the armed services, limit their future career
choices, and stigmatize them for life. It can ruin their own self-image, subtly demoralize
them, and discourage them from reaching their full potential.
There is no solid evidence that ADHD is a genuine disorder or disease of any kind.
There is a great deal of research to
confirm that environmental problems cause ADHD-like symptoms.
A very small number of children may suffer
ADHD-like symptoms because of physical disorders such as lead poisoning, drug
intoxication, exhaustion, and head injury. Physical causes may be more common among poor
communities in the United States.
There is no proof of any physical
abnormalities in the brains or bodies of children who are routinely labeled ADHD. They do
not have known biochemical imbalances or crossed wires.
ADHD is a controversial diagnosis with
little or no scientific or medical basis. A parent, teacher, or doctor can feel in good
company when utterly dismissing the diagnosis and refusing to apply it to children.
Ciba spends millions of dollars to sell parent groups and doctors on the idea of using
Ritalin. Ciba helps to support the parent group, CH.A.D.D., and organized psychiatry.
The U.S. Department of Education and the
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) push Ritalin as vigorously as the manufacturer
of the drug, often in even more glowing terms than the drug company could get away with
legally.
Our society has institutionalized drug
abuse among our children. Worse yet, we abuse our children with drugs rather than making
the effort to find better ways to meet their needs. In the long run, we are giving our
children a very bad lesson that drugs are the answer to emotional problems. We are
encouraging a generation of youngsters to grow up relying on psychiatric drugs rather than
on themselves and other human resources.
The material in this summary is documented with citations to scientific literature in
Talking Back to Ritalin. The book also describes non-drug approaches to helping children
diagnosed ADHD through identifying and meeting the basic needs of children, and through
improvements in school and family life.
If you want to support efforts to stop the
psychiatric drugging of children, and to receive a newsletter, we invite you to join the
international Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, 4628 Chestnut Street,
Bethesda, MD 20814. Visit our web sites at www.breggin.com and http://www.icspp.org/
Stimulant treatments for ADHD have been
shown to suppress the growth rates of
children in numerous studies. In the largest government investigation to date, 579
children were evaluated prospectively over the course of 2 years. Medicated children
suffered a persistent suppression of growth equal to 1 cm (0.39 inches) per year
Unmedicated children grew normally.
Although stimulant package inserts continue
to deny a causal effect between
prescription drugs and growth suppression, a causal mechanism was clearly demonstrated by
in vitro experiments reported in 1979. Researchers at the University of Arkansas described
how stimulants suppress the formation of cartilage in bone tissue. That study has been
overlooked by scientists for more than 20 years.
The potential effects of stimulants upon
craniofacial development should be
seriously considered. The human skull undergoes significant growth through age seven,
along with important remodeling well into adolescence. Impairments in this process could
have dire consequences for the normal development of the brain.
The neuroimaging studies of subjects addicted to street drugs, such as cocaine and
amphetamine, share a common finding: reduced gray matter and smaller brains. Such findings
are consistent with the studies of children who have been medicated with stimulants. The
implication is that prescription drugs, just like street drugs, shrink the human brain
Stimulants Cause Neuronal
Imprinting - Example: Addiction
The phenomenon of neuronal imprinting
refers to the process by which
medications alter the development of entire pathways or systems within the brain.
While this process is especially important in children, it is no less critical in adults.
Stimulants, such as methylphenidate and amphetamine, re-wire the brain in harmful ways
which increase the likelihood of future chemical dependencies (such as nicotine and
cocaine).
Stimulants Are Futile Treatments
for ADHD The U.S. government’s largest (MTA) study demonstrated diminishing effects
for
medication over time. By the 14 month endpoint, previously unmedicated children
enjoyed a numerically superior outcome if they remained drug free. At a 24 month
follow-up, previously medicated children who remained on drugs began to experience a
reversal of fortune. The benefits of behavioral therapy were enduring. The benefits of
stimulants did not persist.
References Andersen, S.L., and Navalta, C.P. (2004) Altering the course of neurodevelopment:
a framework for understanding the enduring effects of psychotropic drugs. International
Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 22, 423-440.
Bartzokis, G., Beckson, M., Lu, P.H.,
Edwards, N., Rapoport, R., Wiseman, E., and Bridge, P.. (2000). Age-related brain volume
reductions in amphetamine and cocaine addicts and normal controls: implications for
addiction research. Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging, 98, 93-102.
Castellanos, F.X., Lee, P.P., Sharp, W.,
Jeffries, N.O., Greenstein, D.K., Clasen, L.S. et. al. (2002). Developmental Trajectories
of Brain Volume Abnormalities in Children and Adolescents With
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. JAMA, 288, 1740-1748,
Franklin, T.R., Acton, P.D., Maldjian,
J.A., Gray, J.D., Croft, J.R., Dackis, C.A., et. al.(2002). Decreased Gray Matter
Concentrations in the Insular, Orbitofrontal, Cingulate, and Temporal Cortices of Cocaine
Patients. Biological Psychiatry, 51, 134-142.
Hall, K.M., Irwin, M.M., Bowman, K.A.,
Frankenberger, W., and Jewett, D.C. (2005). Illicit Use of Prescribed Stimulant Medication
Among College Students. Journal of American College Health, 53, 167-174.
Jackson, G.E. (2005). Rethinking
Psychiatric Drugs: A Guide for Informed Consent.
Bloomington, IN: Author House.
Lambert, N., and Hartsough, C.S. (1998).
Prospective Study of Tobacco Smoking and Substance Dependence among Samples of ADHD and
Non-ADHD Participants.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 31, 533-544.
Lambert, N.M. (2005). Contribution of
childhood ADHD, conduct problems, and
stimulant treatment to adolescent and adult tobacco and psychoactive substance abuse.
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The International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology (ICSPP) is a
nonprofit (503c) research and educational network whose focus is the critical study of the
mental health movement. ICSPP is completely independent and at present our funding
consists solely of individual membership dues.
ICSPP was originally founded in 1971 by Harvard-trained, critical psychiatrist Dr. Peter
Breggin, who has been called "the conscience of psychiatry," and by his wife
Ginger Breggin. Dr. Breggin is the author of "Toxic Psychiatry," "Talking
Back to Ritalin," "Talking Back to Prozac" (with Ginger Breggin,) "The
War on Children of Color" (with Ginger Breggin), "Your Drug May Be Your
Problem" (with Dr. David Cohen), and many other books and scholarly articles. Dr.
Breggin is also a founding editor of the ICSPP's scholarly journal, "Ethical Human
Sciences and Services," now edited by Larry Simon and Jonathan Leo and published by
Springer Publishing Company.
Study Shows Methylphenidate Linked
to Chromosomal Changes
In a small but startling preliminary new
study, Texas researchers have found that after just three months, every one of a dozen
children treated for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with the drug
methylphenidate experienced a threefold increase in levels of chromosome
abnormalities-occurrences associated with increased risks of cancer and other adverse
health effects.
The Child Medication Safety Act (HR 1170),
is a federal bill designed to protect children and their parents from being coerced into
administering Ritalin or any other controlled substance in order to attend school.
The author spends the first part of this
groundbreaking book questioning the validity of ADD as a medical disorder. He introduces
us to the emerging field of "biopsychiatry," to which psychopharmacology owes
its current and future success. According to Breeding, the principles of biopsychiatry are
as follows:
Adjustment to society is good
Failure to adjust is the result of mental
illness.
Mental illness is a medical disease.
Mental illness is the result of biological
and/or genetic defects.
Mental illness is incurable.
Symptoms can be managed primarily by drugs
Breeding points out, for the pharmaceutical
industry to discover what a gold mine had been opened up when the educational system in
the 1960s began to label and segregate the misfits, and its partners in crime, the school
"psychologists," started handing out Ritalin like candy. Today the makers of
Ritalin and Prozac are reaping untold billions in profits and market analysts tell us this
is only the beginning. I recently learned from a family practice doctor in Syracuse, NY,
that researchers at the teaching hospital there are experimenting with Ritalin on
three-month-olds. And did you know that the manufacturer of Prozac, which like the tobacco
industry before it, now has American teenagers in its cross hairs, and is now making its
poison available in a variety of flavors? Or that Ciba-Geigy, which produces Ritalin, has
given nearly a million dollars to the national ADD "support" group, Children and
Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD)? CHADD is currently lobbying Congress to
relax FDA controls on Ritalin.
In recent years there has been a dramatic
increase in the number of American children diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit and
Hyperactivity Disorder). Almost all of these kids are placed on psycho-stimulant
medications like Ritalin. As this trend continues, our children are rapidly becoming the
most medicated children in the world. With ADHD diagnosis rates ten times greater than
those observed in Europe or Japan, the United States now consumes 90% of the annual global
production of Methylphenidate.
While psycho-stimulant medication has
provided relief to many children suffering from behavioral disorders, the sudden increase
in both the awareness and diagnosis of ADHD has raised concerns about potential
over-diagnosis and about the liberal use of psychotropic medication to modify the behavior
of children. Because minor children are often incapable of making their own medical
treatment decisions, their parents or legal guardians bear the responsibility of deciding
the best course of treatment for them. But parents, who are not always aware of their
legal right to informed consent, increasingly report facing strong social, institutional,
and legal pressures to medicate their children.
Drug safety fears fueling new
interest in ADHD behavioral therapy
By Sandra G. Boodman, WASHINGTON POST
WHAT non-drug treatments work to combat
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
It's a question more parents are asking
doctors, prompted by new concerns about the safety of medicines used to treat a problem
that affects an estimated 4.4 million American children. In the past three months, two
advisory committees of the Food and Drug Administration have recommended that warning
labels on ADHD drugs, most of them stimulants such as Ritalin, be strengthened because of
their possible links to rare cardiac problems and vivid hallucinations often involving
snakes or bugs.
Concerns about misuse and overprescription
of ADHD drugs, many of them chemical cousins of amphetamines, are not new. But hope that
the common neurobehavioral disorder could be effectively treated without medication was
dealt a severe blow seven years ago when a landmark study of nearly 600 school-age
children found that medications were the most effective treatment.
