The Curious History of Medicines in Psychiatry

The Curious History of Medicines in Psychiatry PDF Author: Wallace B. Mendelson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780578637877
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the years following World War II, there were no effective medicines for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression. There were not even names for such things- words like 'antipsychotic', 'mood stabilizer','antidepressant' or 'tranquilizer' had not even come into being. Within the next two decades all these types of medicines were developed.Most of these discoveries occurred inadvertently, often with a chance observation by a physician or scientist who was looking for something else. Who would have predicted that war surplus fuel from German V2 rockets would be used to develop a new tuberculosis drug, and that a doctor prescribing it noticed that patients felt more hopeful, and thought this might be useful for depression? Or that a scientist testing a preservative for penicillin noticed that animals became quieter, and wondered if it might be a helpful treatment for human anxiety?In this book Dr. Mendelson, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, draws upon forty years of experience studying medicines to describe how they were found, as well as the context of world events and the lives of the discoverers.

The Curious History of Medicines in Psychiatry

The Curious History of Medicines in Psychiatry PDF Author: Wallace B. Mendelson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780578637877
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the years following World War II, there were no effective medicines for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression. There were not even names for such things- words like 'antipsychotic', 'mood stabilizer','antidepressant' or 'tranquilizer' had not even come into being. Within the next two decades all these types of medicines were developed.Most of these discoveries occurred inadvertently, often with a chance observation by a physician or scientist who was looking for something else. Who would have predicted that war surplus fuel from German V2 rockets would be used to develop a new tuberculosis drug, and that a doctor prescribing it noticed that patients felt more hopeful, and thought this might be useful for depression? Or that a scientist testing a preservative for penicillin noticed that animals became quieter, and wondered if it might be a helpful treatment for human anxiety?In this book Dr. Mendelson, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, draws upon forty years of experience studying medicines to describe how they were found, as well as the context of world events and the lives of the discoverers.

Anatomy of an Epidemic

Anatomy of an Epidemic PDF Author: Robert Whitaker
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307452433
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 418

Get Book Here

Book Description
Updated with bonus material, including a new foreword and afterword with new research, this New York Times bestseller is essential reading for a time when mental health is constantly in the news. In this astonishing and startling book, award-winning science and history writer Robert Whitaker investigates a medical mystery: Why has the number of disabled mentally ill in the United States tripled over the past two decades? Interwoven with Whitaker’s groundbreaking analysis of the merits of psychiatric medications are the personal stories of children and adults swept up in this epidemic. As Anatomy of an Epidemic reveals, other societies have begun to alter their use of psychiatric medications and are now reporting much improved outcomes . . . so why can’t such change happen here in the United States? Why have the results from these long-term studies—all of which point to the same startling conclusion—been kept from the public? Our nation has been hit by an epidemic of disabling mental illness, and yet, as Anatomy of an Epidemic reveals, the medical blueprints for curbing that epidemic have already been drawn up. Praise for Anatomy of an Epidemic “The timing of Robert Whitaker’s Anatomy of an Epidemic, a comprehensive and highly readable history of psychiatry in the United States, couldn’t be better.”—Salon “Anatomy of an Epidemic offers some answers, charting controversial ground with mystery-novel pacing.”—TIME “Lucid, pointed and important, Anatomy of an Epidemic should be required reading for anyone considering extended use of psychiatric medicine. Whitaker is at the height of his powers.” —Greg Critser, author of Generation Rx

The Rise and Fall of the Age of Psychopharmacology

The Rise and Fall of the Age of Psychopharmacology PDF Author: Edward Shorter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197574459
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 449

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Age of Psychopharmacology began with a brilliant rise in the 1950s, when for the first time science entered the study of drugs that affect the brain and mind. But, esteemed historian Edward Shorter argues that there has been a recent fall, as the field has seen its drug offerings impoverished and its diagnoses distorted by the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders." The new drugs, such as Prozac, have been less effective than the old. The new diagnoses, such as "major depression," have strayed increasingly from the real disorders of most patients. Behind this disaster has been the invasion of the field by the pharmaceutical industry. This invasion has paid off commercially but not scientifically: There have been no new classes of psychiatry drugs in the last thirty years. Given that psychiatry's diagnoses and therapeutics have largely failed, the field has greatly declined from earlier days. Based on extensive research discovered in litigation, Shorter provides a historical perspective of change and decline over time, concluding that the story of the psychopharmacology is a story of a public health disaster.

Mad Science

Mad Science PDF Author: Stuart A. Kirk
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351507931
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 359

Get Book Here

Book Description
*Winner of an honorable mention from theSociety for Social Work and ResearchforOutstanding Social Work Book AwardMad Science argues that the fundamental claims of modern American psychiatry are based on misconceived, flawed, and distorted science. The authors address multiple paradoxes in American mental health research, including the remaking of coercion into scientific psychiatric treatment, the adoption of an unscientific diagnostic system that controls the distribution of services, and how drug treatments have failed to improve the mental health outcome.When it comes to understanding and treating mental illness, distortions of research are not rare, misinterpretation of data is not isolated, and bogus claims of success are not voiced by isolated researchers seeking aggrandizement. This book's detailed analysis of coercion and community treatment, diagnosis, and psychopharmacology reveals that these characteristics are endemic, institutional, and protected in psychiatry. They are not just bad science, but mad science.This book provides an engaging and readable scientific and social critique of current mental health practices. The authors are scholars, researchers, and clinicians who have written extensively about community care, diagnosis, and psychoactive drugs. This paperback edition makes Mad Science accessible to all specialists in the field as well as to the informed public.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Psychiatry

Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Psychiatry PDF Author: Philip R. Muskin
Publisher: American Psychiatric Pub
ISBN: 1585628271
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 309

Get Book Here

Book Description
Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Psychiatry will start psychiatrists and other mental health professionals on the journey toward a more complete understanding of the most common CAM treatments in use today. The alternative therapies discussed in this book pre-date our own conventional treatments by hundreds and even thousands of years. These therapies have been "conventional" medicine for hundred of millions of people who have used them throughout the centuries, and people continue to use them today. One of the few texts that provides an academic and practical review of complementary and alternative medicine, the book is written from the perspective of clinicians who practice in both traditional and alternative medicine. The book covers the major areas in CAM, including herbal medicine and nutrients, acupuncture, meditative therapies, and yoga. It provides the most important and up-to-date scientific data along with controversies that exist in the field. With all of the chapters extensively referenced, the book will serve as a tremendous resource for those interested in exploring these areas in greater depth. As evidenced by the statistics, patients today are taking increasingly active roles in managing their health care. They are using CAM therapies in the medical setting along with or in place of conventional treatment. They are using them for promoting wellness; for chronic conditions which they feel do not respond well to conventional approaches; and for more serious illnesses, as evidenced by the large number of inquiries being sent to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Psychiatry contains a thorough review of problems that may be encountered by the physicians treating these patients, and it also serves as a guide in advising patients who are seeking out CAM therapies. This book will appeal to a wide audience of professionals including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nonpsychiatric physicians, and residents by providing a guide for treatment with nutrients and botanical preparations and the foundation for the use of meditation, acupuncture and yoga along with traditional psychiatric treatment.

Lithium: A Doctor, a Drug, and a Breakthrough

Lithium: A Doctor, a Drug, and a Breakthrough PDF Author: Walter A. Brown
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
ISBN: 1631492004
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book Here

Book Description
The remarkable untold story of a miracle drug, the forgotten pioneer who discovered it, and the fight to bring lithium to the masses. The DNA double helix, penicillin, the X-ray, insulin—these are routinely cited as some of the most important medical discoveries of the twentieth century. And yet, the 1949 discovery of lithium as a cure for bipolar disorder is perhaps one of the most important—yet largely unsung—breakthroughs of the modern era. In Lithium, Walter Brown, a practicing psychiatrist and professor at Brown, reveals two unlikely success stories: that of John Cade, the physician whose discovery would come to save an untold number of lives and launch a pharmacological revolution, and that of a miraculous metal rescued from decades of stigmatization. From insulin comas and lobotomy to incarceration to exile, Brown chronicles the troubling history of the diagnosis and (often ineffective) treatment of bipolar disorder through the centuries, before the publication of a groundbreaking research paper in 1949. Cade’s “Lithium Salts in the Treatment of Psychotic Excitement” described, for the first time, lithium’s astonishing efficacy at both treating and preventing the recurrence of manic-depressive episodes, and would eventually transform the lives of patients, pharmaceutical researchers, and practicing physicians worldwide. And yet, as Brown shows, it would be decades before lithium would overcome widespread stigmatization as a dangerous substance, and the resistance from the pharmaceutical industry, which had little incentive to promote a naturally occurring drug that could not be patented. With a vivid portrait of the story’s unlikely hero, John Cade, Brown also describes a devoted naturalist who, unlike many modern medical researchers, did not benefit from prestigious research training or big funding sources (Cade’s “laboratory” was the unused pantry of an isolated mental hospital). As Brown shows, however, these humble conditions were the secret to his historic success: Cade was free to follow his own restless curiosity, rather than answer to an external funding source. As Lithium makes tragically clear, medical research—at least in America—has transformed in such a way that serendipitous discoveries like Cade’s are unlikely to occur ever again. Recently described by the New York Times as the “Cinderella” of psychiatric drugs, lithium has saved countless of lives and billions of dollars in healthcare costs. In this revelatory biography of a drug and the man who fought for its discovery, Brown crafts a captivating picture of modern medical history—revealing just how close we came to passing over this extraordinary cure.

Shrink Rap

Shrink Rap PDF Author: Dinah Miller
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press+ORM
ISBN: 142140074X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Get Book Here

Book Description
“One of the most useful books I’ve read about mental illnesses . . . It demystifies our complicated medical and legal system.” —Pete Earley, New York Times-bestselling author of Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness Finally, a book that explains everything you ever wanted to know about psychiatry! In Shrink Rap, three psychiatrists from different specialties provide frank answers to questions such as: • What is psychotherapy, how does it work, and why don’t all psychiatrists do it? • When are medications helpful? • What happens on a psychiatric unit? • Can Prozac make people suicidal? • Why do many doctors not like Xanax? • Why do we have an insanity defense? • Why do people confess to crimes they didn’t commit? Based on the authors’ hugely popular blog and podcast series, this book is for patients and everyone else who is curious about how psychiatrists work. Using compelling patient vignettes, Shrink Rap explains how psychiatrists think about and address the problems they encounter, from the mundane (how much to charge) to the controversial (involuntary hospitalization). The authors face the field’s shortcomings head-on, revealing what other doctors may not admit about practicing psychiatry. Candid and humorous, Shrink Rap gives a closeup view of psychiatry, peering into technology, treatments, and the business of the field. If you’ve ever wondered how psychiatry really works, let the Shrink Rappers explain. “A fascinating peek into the minds of those who study minds.” —The Washington Post “Most of us easily understand how to treat a broken arm, but a fractured psyche? That’s an entirely different matter. Or is it? This clear-headed presentation of psychiatric services and methods covers a lot of ground and achieves a conversational tone that’s both educational and entertaining.” —Baltimore Magazine

The Book of Woe

The Book of Woe PDF Author: Gary Greenberg
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101621109
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 359

Get Book Here

Book Description
“Gary Greenberg has become the Dante of our psychiatric age, and the DSM-5 is his Inferno.” —Errol Morris Since its debut in 1952, the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has set down the “official” view on what constitutes mental illness. Homosexuality, for instance, was a mental illness until 1973. Each revision has created controversy, but the DSM-5 has taken fire for encouraging doctors to diagnose more illnesses—and to prescribe sometimes unnecessary or harmful medications. Respected author and practicing psychotherapist Gary Greenberg embedded himself in the war that broke out over the fifth edition, and returned with an unsettling tale. Exposing the deeply flawed process behind the DSM-5’s compilation, The Book of Woe reveals how the manual turns suffering into a commodity—and made the APA its own biggest beneficiary.

Handbook of Medical Hallucinogens

Handbook of Medical Hallucinogens PDF Author: Charles S. Grob
Publisher: Guilford Publications
ISBN: 1462551890
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 602

Get Book Here

Book Description
This handbook reviews promising applications of psychedelics in treatment of such challenging psychiatric problems as posttraumatic stress disorder, major depression, substance use disorders, and end-of-life anxiety. Experts from multiple disciplines synthesize current knowledge on psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, and other medical hallucinogens. The volume comprehensively examines these substances' neurobiological mechanisms, clinical effects, therapeutic potential, risks, and anthropological and historical contexts. Coverage ranges from basic science to practical clinical considerations, including patient screening and selection, dosages and routes of administration, how psychedelic-assisted sessions are structured and conducted, and management of adverse reactions.

Medicine

Medicine PDF Author: DK
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 146545893X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Get Book Here

Book Description
From ancient herbal remedies to modern drugs, the field of medicine has evolved dramatically over many centuries. Medicine takes you through the ages of human history and uncovers the greatest medical breakthroughs, with incredible coverage of disease, drugs, treatment, and cures. Turn the richly illustrated pages replete with compelling stories to learn all about the gory pitfalls and miraculous successes of medical history - from trepanning, bloodletting, and body snatching to brand new developments in IVF and gene therapy. Clear diagrams explain major diseases such as cancer, and trace the progression of medical treatment through time, from ancient healing arts to scurvy and smallpox, and the World Wars to modern psychiatry. Double-page features on key scientists and researchers offer unique insight into their lives, experiments, and motivations. Perfect for adults, students, and anyone interested in the fascinating medical history of the world, Medicine is the definitive visual history of our health.