Important FLU and atypical antipsychotic information

Two things to keep your elderly parents away from: Being drugged at their elderly facility and the flu shot that has high levels of mercury, causes dementia and actually does not work which in some facilities are required.
If so, demand the flu shot without Thimerosal but not the live virus vaccine called "Flu mist". Eileen

See 5 minute University of Calgary video on our site: www.ProgressiveConvergence.com (how mercury degenerates the brain neurons)

and check out the 2500 suicide and homicide stories: http://www.ssristories.com/index.php

Letters to the editor: letters@nytimes.com

New York Times

Doctors Say Medication Is Overused in Dementia

By LAURIE TARKAN

June 24, 2008

Ramona Lamascola with her mother, Theresa Lamascola.

Ramona Lamascola thought she was losing her 88-year-old mother to dementia. Instead, she was losing her to overmedication.

Last fall her mother, Theresa Lamascola, of the Bronx, suffering from anxiety and confusion, was put on the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. When she had trouble walking, her daughter took her to another doctor — the younger Ms. Lamascola's own physician — who found that she had unrecognized hypothyroidism, a disorder that can contribute to dementia.

Mrs. Lamascola no longer takes antipsychotics.

Theresa Lamascola was moved to a nursing home to get these problems under control. But things only got worse. "My mother was screaming and out of it, drooling on herself and twitching," said Ms. Lamascola, a pediatric nurse. The psychiatrist in the nursing home stopped the Risperdal, which can cause twitching and vocal tics, and prescribed a sedative and two other antipsychotics.

"I knew the drugs were doing this to her," her daughter said. "I told him to stop the medications and stay away from Mom."

Not until yet another doctor took Mrs. Lamascola off the drugs did she begin to improve.

The use of antipsychotic drugs to tamp down the agitation, combative behavior and outbursts of dementia patients has soared, especially in the elderly. Sales of newer antipsychotics like Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa totaled $13.1 billion in 2007, up from $4 billion in 2000, according to IMS Health, a health care information company.

Part of this increase can be traced to prescriptions in nursing homes. Researchers estimate that about a third of all nursing home patients have been given antipsychotic drugs.

The increases continue despite a drumbeat of bad publicity. A 2006 study of Alzheimer's patients found that for most patients, antipsychotics provided no significant improvement over placebos in treating aggression and delusions.

In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration ordered that the newer drugs carry a "black box" label warning of an increased risk of death. Last week, the F.D.A. required a similar warning on the labels of older antipsychotics.

The agency has not approved marketing of these drugs for older people with dementia, but they are commonly prescribed to these patients "off label." Several states are suing the top sellers of antipsychotics on charges of false and misleading marketing.

Ambre Morley, a spokeswoman for Janssen, the division of Johnson & Johnson that manufactures Risperdal, would not comment on the suits, but said: "As with any medication, the prescribing of a medication is up to a physician. We only promote our products for F.D.A.-approved indications."

Nevertheless, many doctors say misuse of the drugs is widespread. "These antipsychotics can be overused and abused," said Dr. Johnny Matson, a professor of psychology at Louisiana State University. "And there's a lot of abuse going on in a lot of these places."

Dr. William D. Smucker, a member of the American Medical Directors Association, a group of health professionals who work in nursing homes, agreed. Though the group encourages doctors to conduct a thorough assessment and prescribe antipsychotics only as a last resort, he said, "Many physicians are absent without leave in the nursing home and don't take an active role in the assessment of the patient."

Some nursing homes are trying a different approach, so-called environmental intervention. The strategies include reducing boredom, providing intellectual and physical stimulation, exercise, calming music, bringing in pets for therapy and improving how the staff approaches and talks to dementia patients.

At the Margaret Teitz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Queens, social workers do life reviews of patients to understand their interests, lifestyle and former occupations.

"I had a patient who used to be in fashion," said Nancy Goldwasser, the director of social services. "So we got her fabric samples. And she'd sit and look through the books, touch the fabric, and it would calm her."

But such approaches are time consuming, they do not help all patients, they can be prohibitively expensive and they will be more difficult to provide as Alzheimer's continues to increase.

"Our health care system isn't set up to address the mental, emotional and behavioral problems of the elderly," said Dr. Gary S. Moak, president of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.

Nursing homes are short staffed, and insurers do not generally pay for the attentive medical care and hands-on psychosocial therapy that advocates recommend. It is much easier to use sedatives and antipsychotics, despite their side effects.

The first generation of antipsychotics, like Haldol, carry a significant risk of repetitive movement disorders and sedation. Second-generation antipsychotics, also called atypicals, are more commonly prescribed because the risk of movement disorders is lower. But they, too, can cause sedation, and they contribute to weight gain and diabetes.

Used correctly, the drugs do have a role in treating some seriously demented patients, who may be incapacitated by paranoia or are self-destructive or violent. Taking the edge off the behavior can keep them safe and living at home, rather than in a nursing home.

If patients are prescribed an antipsychotic, it should be a very low dose for the shortest period necessary, said Dr. Dillip V. Jeste, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego.

It may take a few weeks or months to control behavior. In many cases, the patient can then be weaned off of the drugs or kept at a very low dose.

Some experts say another group of medications — antidementia drugs like Aricept, Exalon and Menamda — are underused. Research shows that 10 to 20 percent of Alzheimer's patients had noticeable positive responses to the drugs, and 40 percent more showed some cognitive improvement, even if it was not noticeable to an observer.

"Sometimes, it's enough to take the edge off the behavioral problems, so the family and patient can live with it and you don't expose people to much risk," said Dr. Gary J. Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

Other experts cite a lack of research backing these drugs for behavioral problems.

If patients begin showing behavioral symptoms of dementia, doctors said, they should have complete medical and psychiatric workups first, especially if symptoms develop suddenly.

"Just because someone is 95 does not mean one should not do a workup, especially if she's been healthy," Dr. Kennedy said.

Common causes of the symptoms include ministrokes, reparable brain hemorrhage from a mild bump on the head, hypothyroidism, dehydration, malnourishment, depression and sleep disorders.

Some doctors point out that simply paying attention to a nursing home patient can ease dementia symptoms. They note that in randomized trials of antipsychotic drugs for dementia, 30 to 60 percent of patients in the placebo groups improved.

"That's mind boggling," Dr. Jeste said. "These severely demented patients are not responding to the power of suggestion. They're responding to the attention they get when they participate in a clinical trial.

"They receive both T.L.C. and good general medical and humane care, which they did not receive until now. That's a sad commentary on the way we treat dementia patients."

To family members looking at a nursing home for an aging parent, experts recommend seeking out homes with low staff turnover, a high ratio of staff members to patients, and programs with psychosocial components.

The Medicare Web site has basic information on individual homes at www.medicare.gov/NHcompare. The National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, at www.nccnhr.org, offers a consumer guide to choosing a nursing home.

If medications are necessary, a family member should communicate with the prescribing doctor, learn the goal of each medication and be involved in making the decision.

Dr. Moak, of the psychiatry association, emphasized seeking out the doctor. Family members, he said, "often speak through the nursing staff, and that's a huge mistake."

Family members who are not convinced that a relative is receiving the best care should get a second opinion, as Ramona Lamascola did.

The physician she consulted, Dr. Kennedy of Montefiore, stopped her mother's antipsychotics and sedatives and prescribed Aricept.

"It's not clear whether it was getting her hypothyroid and other medical issues finally under control or getting rid of the offending medications," he said. "But she had a miraculous turnaround."

Theresa Lamascola still has dementia, but she went from confinement in a wheelchair — unable to sit still and screaming out in fear — to being able to walk with help, sit peacefully, have some memory and ability to communicate, understand subtleties of conversations and even make jokes.

Or, as her daughter put it, "I got my mother back."

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/health/24deme.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

---

27,346 Signatures Against TeenScreen. Petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfU9puZQKBY

Update on Teen Screen

All of the documents filed in the TeenScreen lawsuit can be found here: 
<http://www.psychsearch.net/teenscreen_lawsuit.html> 
www.psychsearch.net/teenscreen_lawsuit.html 

The last entry is from Teresa Rhoades' attorney (plaintiff) asking for a 
trial by jury "to be held as soon as is expeditiously available on the 
Court's calendar" 

The Rutherford Institute filed the lawsuit in federal court in Indiana 
on behalf of the Rhoades' family whose 15-year-old daughter, Chelsea 
Rhoades, was subjected to a mental health screening examination at her 
school without her parents' knowledge or consent and then was diagnosed 
with two mental "disorders". Institute attorneys charge that school 
officials violated Michael and Teresa Rhoades' constitutional right, as 
parents, to control the care, custody and upbringing of their daughter 
when Chelsea was subjected to TeenScreen withouth their knowledge or 
consent. 

Rutherford Institute 
No Child Left Undrugged 
By John W. Whitehead 
6/9/2008 

According to autopsy reports, 4-year-old Rebecca Riley died from an 
overdose of psychiatric drugs. At age 2, Rebecca was diagnosed with 
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). At 3, she was diagnosed 
with bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. By the time she 
died on Dec. 13, 2006, little Rebecca was taking Clonidine, as well as 
the anti-convulsant Depakote and the anti-psychotic Seroquel. 

John Whitehead 

What were some of the symptoms that prompted such treatment plans? As 
her mother described it, Rebecca was "constantly getting into things, 
running around, not being able to settle down." 

Rebecca's diagnosis was not a medical aberration. Her 10-year-old 
brother and 4-year-old sister were already being treated for manic 
depression. Indeed, nearly one million children are reportedly diagnosed 

as bipolar, making it more common than autism and diabetes combined. 

From 1994 to 2003, the number of children treated for bipolar disorder

increased 40 percent, a jump that many experts attribute to more doctors 

aggressively applying the diagnosis. 

An increasing number of medical officials are voicing the concern that 
children are being misdiagnosed. Dr. John McClellan, who runs a 
children's psychiatric hospital in the state of Washington, suggested 
that the bipolar diagnosis has become a catch-all for aggressive and 
troubled children. 

Likewise, child psychiatrist John Holttum believes that the definition 
of bipolar disorder is expanding. Whereas children who were seen as 
troubled or irritable 10 or 15 years ago might have been treated with 
counseling, parental training for their caregivers or other social 
interventions, children with similar symptoms today are being diagnosed 
as bipolar and treated with medication. Unfortunately, for many 
families, therapy is not even an option. According to Dr. Michael Brody, 
a child psychiatrist at the University of Maryland, since insurance 
companies often do not support therapy, most parents opt for medication. 

Not surprisingly, the pharmaceutical companies are reaping the rewards, 
aided by the medical community and the media. Bipolar disorder 
medication is typically three to five times more expensive than 
medications prescribed for other disorders, such as depression or 
anxiety. As the News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash., points out, "Furthering 
the trend is extensive marketing of atypical anti-psychotics by the 
companies that make them, and media coverage of bipolar disorder as a 
childhood disease." 

Yet many of the anti-psychotic drugs being prescribed for children have 
not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use on them. 
Of the two that have been approved for children, Risperdahl and Abilify, 
they've only been approved for short-term use. Nevertheless, as the News 
Tribune points out, because these drugs have been approved for adults, 
"doctors are free to prescribe drugs to anyone and in any way they see 
fit once they have been approved for some purpose." 

What this means is that in addition to being misdiagnosed, there is an 
increased likelihood that children are also being overdrugged. Concern 
about this scenario has prompted Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, chief medical 
officer for the Washington state Medicaid program, to provide more 
stringent guidelines to ensure that anti-psychotic drugs are prescribed 
to Medicaid children only when truly needed and at proper dosages. 

While Thompson's actions signal a move in the right direction, at least 
for minor-aged Medicaid recipients in his state, it will do little to 
help children in private care and in other states. 

When confronted with the numbers of children being diagnosed with 
bipolar disorder-about 800,000 in 2003, and likely much higher now-it is 
hard to know how to respond. Could that many young people truly be 
suffering from this disorder? It is tempting to lay the blame on an 
over-zealous medical community or a greedy pharmaceutical industry. 
There is no doubt that they have benefited financially from the sharp 
rise in bipolar cases among young people. 

Is it more a case of kids just being kids-noisy, rambunctious, 
hyperactive, disorderly? Or is there something else going on here? 
Curiously, one study released in 2007 indicated that among children 
diagnosed with bipolar disorder, two-thirds of them were boys. 

While there are undeniably cases where children are actually suffering 
and are helped by diagnosis and medication, I have to wonder about the 
majority. Little is said in the studies I have read about the impact 
that family life and the environment may have on the behavior of 
children diagnosed as bipolar, or even ADHD, yet they can't be ruled 
out. 

Society as a whole has become irresponsible in its duty to young people. 
Obsessed with materialism, we have handed over our young people to 
marketing mavens and corporations eager to make a quick buck. Distracted 
by entertainment, we have relinquished our children to television 
babysitters, allowing them to become turned on by and tuned into 
mindless television programs, video games and advertising that promote 
violence and premarital sex, among other unhealthy behaviors. Children 
need human touch and love. All too often, parents give them over to 
others for care. They also leave them floating in the non-real world of 
virtual reality. 

Thus, it is little wonder that so many children are out of control, 
disorderly and unable to settle down. But they shouldn't be victimized 
and punished for our neglect. Nor should they be drugged into 
compliance. Our children are screaming for help, but we're not listening 
to what they're saying. Instead, many parents are just hoping to shut 
them up-whether with drugs or entertainment-and get a little peace and 
quiet. But that's not the answer. 

A solution will not be found by passing another law. Rather, it must 
start at home and in the community. When the family breaks down, 
everything breaks down. We need to start by re-building families. 
Parents need to be parents and stop over-scheduling their children. They 
need to start spending time with them. 

Finally, parents need to say no to drugs for their children. They need 
to control what their children watch and listen to. And they need to 
take off the headphones, turn off the cell phones and try communicating 
with their children. 

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and 
president of The Rutherford Institute. His new book The Change Manifesto 
(Sourcebooks) will be out in August 2008. 

  _____  

27,270 Signatures Against TeenScreen. Petition: 
<http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html> 
http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html Video: 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfU9puZQKBY> 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfU9puZQKBY

Teen screen update

Abilify, Geodon, Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa are the names of the
"atypical antipsychotics". They are newer, more expensive and just as
damaging as the older "antipsychotics" such as Thorazine and Haldol.

It is illegal for a drug company to promote a drug for uses not approved
by the FDA. Example. Promoting Antipsychotic Drugs for "ADHD" .

<http://tmap.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/otsuka-to-pay-fine-to-resolve-abil
ify-marketing-probe/>
http://tmap.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/otsuka-to-pay-fine-to-resolve-abili
fy-marketing-probe/

Otsuka to Pay Fine to Resolve Abilify Marketing Probe
Bloomberg News
By Robert Schmidt and Beth Jinks
March 27, 2008

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. agreed to pay $4 million to resolve U.S.
allegations it marketed the schizophrenia drug Abilify for off-label
uses in cahoots with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., which settled in
September.

The Justice Department accused New York-based Bristol-Myers and Otsuka
American Pharmaceutical Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of the closely held
Japanese drugmaker which invented Abilify, of promoting the
antipsychotic for use in children, and as a remedy for dementia, without
regulator approval.

Use in children wasn't approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
at the time, and the drug is required to carry the most severe safety
warning, a so-called black box, for use in dementia-related psychosis.

Abilify Booth at NAMI CONVENTION (National Alliance on Mental Illness),
San Diego, CA June 20 - June 24, 2007 (courtesy of
<http://www.namipharma.org/> www.namipharma.org)

In September, Bristol-Myers completed an agreement to pay $515 million
to settle U.S. allegations it overcharged the government for drugs and
promoted medicines including Abilify for unapproved uses. Bristol-Myers
directed its sales force to visit child psychiatrists and nursing homes,
the Justice Department said in September. Otsuka's sales force was "led
primarily by Bristol-Myers sales managers," the department said today.

Otsuka will pay the U.S. government about $2.3 million and the remainder
to states' Medicaid programs, the company said in a statement. It agreed
to a corporate integrity agreement, without specifying the length of the
compliance and monitoring pledged.

Bristol-Myers also agreed to a five-year corporate integrity agreement
that requires the company to maintain compliance programs to monitor
business practices. It avoided criminal charges.

The U.S. investigation of Bristol-Myers involved more than 50 medicines.
The company was accused of inflating prices used by the government to
set reimbursement rates for some drugs, and improper promotional
activities for others.

_____

26,359 Signatures Against TeenScreen:
<http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html>
http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html Video:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfU9puZQKB3Y>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfU9puZQKB3Y

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another round of anti Big Pharma notes as they do in the kidz

Teen screen

unscrupulous doctors

irresponsible parents

kids with no human rights or advocates

Adrenal system breakdown

Bush family profit$

Big Pharma lies

foster care

schools geared toward behaviour modification

breakdown in the RULE OF LAW
(which prevent child abuse to some degree)

MSM propaganda machine

Essay over

Ricky's diagnois based on mom's input

Jack Kresnak
Special to the State Journal

For nearly three years, Dr. Aurif Abedi, a child psychiatrist at Jackson's Foote Hospital, treated Ricky Holland's strange and reportedly violent behavior with drugs, adjusting them based on reports from Ricky's mom, Lisa Holland.

Abedi first diagnosed the boy with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, using assessments from a psychologist and a therapist, Lisa's accounts of Ricky's behavior and his own observations.

Abedi prescribed stimulants such as Ritalin for the ADHD and the antidepressant trazadone to help Ricky sleep.

"He had periods where he did better and then he had periods where he was not doing well," Abedi recalled recently. "When we started finally addressing it as a mood disorder, he did very well."

Abedi prescribed the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa to help stabilize Ricky's moods. Some of the drugs given to him - trazadone and Zyprexa - are not FDA-approved for children, but their use is fairly common, said Dr. Sheila Marcus, a child psychiatrist and director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School. The "off-label" use of such medications may occur in children who have disruptive or aggressive behaviors, she said.

In the wake of Ricky's case, Abedi said, he and others working with children in Jackson meet regularly to communicate concerns about kids in the foster care or adoption system.

"Everybody is aware that you could be taken for a ride" by bad parents, he said. "Could this happen again? I hope not. Will it happen again? Unfortunately, I can see it happening again."

Post a Comment View All Comments

Reader Comment	Wed Dec 05, 2007 6:03 pm
OGIC, That's what ticked me off. The child is now an adult, who does not now or ever did have seizures or epilepsy. It was prescribed off label from the psychiatrist. THIS pyschiatrist. Not a medical doctor or neurologist. Brandy, Did you follow the controversy about the State of Maine prescribing birth control pills for children as young as 11 years old, through the school health clinics? They will not share medical information with parents without a release from the student. state law, which allows the students to decide whether to inform their parents about the SERVICES they receive. There are no national figures on how many middle schools provide such services. Most middle schoolers range in age from 11 to 13. http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/18/middleschool.contraception.ap/index.html Permission is needed by the parent to treat the child, but once you give your permission, all bets are off unless litte susie wants to include you. Most children would tell their parents that the school doctor wanted to prescribe them prozac for their depression after sally broke up with johnny, but not all of them. The schools don't have to tell you either. The schools in Illinois don't even have to tell you they are testing your children for depression or bipolar, they just do it. It's "MANDATORY". http://www.aapsonline.org/confiden/mhspaul.htm The state of Illinois has also approved a mental health screening program. The Illinois legislature passed the Children's Mental Health Act of 2003 which will provide screening for "all children ages 0-18" and "ensure appropriate and culturally relevant assessment of your children's social and emotional development with the use of standardized tools." In addition, all pregnant women in Illinois are to be screened for depression. Dr. Karen R. Effrem, another physician and leading opponent of mandatory screening recently stated, "Universal mental health screening and the drugging of children, as recommended by the New Freedom Comission [presidential commission], needs to be stopped so that many thousands if not millions of children will be saved from receiving stigmatizing diagnoses that would follow them for the rest of their lives. America's school children should not be medicated by expensive, ineffective, and dangerous medications based on vague and dubious diagnoses." Sounds nice. Check out all the people who collect a check for getting their hands in the cookie jar of the pharmaceutical industry. But it's all in the best interest of the children. Riiiiiiiiiight. http://www.ivpa.org/childrensmhtf/pdf/2007ICMHPAnnualReport.pdf For the sheep and constitutionalists alike. Don't miss this. Where else can you get NCLB being a portal for drugging children AND the FBI saying that people who defend the constitution are "mentally unstable" in one page? I knew some lawyers were pretty whacko, but all of them? http://edaction.org/2004/082704.htm
Reader Comment	Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:38 pm
I also think that children are prescribed far too much medication. I also think that children are diagnosed with ADD and ADHD when it really is not the case. However, there are times when children are in need of medication. Phenobarbital is prescribed for seizures. Epilepsy can be tested for, and if children who have seizures are denied medication to control their seizures, they can die or end up brain damaged. My oldest son is an epileptic and was prescribed Phenobarbital as a toddler. As he got older, the medications changed and he eventually was prescribed other medication. There aren't too many FDA approved medications for babies with epilepsy. nineball, if your friend’s child has seizures and doesn't give her child their medication, he could die, end up with brain damage and she could be charged with medical neglect. Dr's should not be so eager to prescribe non-lifesaving medications, however medication for children should not be automatically dismissed in accurately diagnosed conditions.
Reader Comment	Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:22 pm
Yep, I have to agree too. My husband and I are against it too. I told the school we would have to work together to achieve the goals we want my child to have.
medicating our children	Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:18 pm
My youngest in still in middle school and it has a Health Center and as far as I know Im still the parent to the minor child and they HAVE to tell me of his medical condition. He is a minor and I am his parent. HIPPA doesnt apply to a minor. I do agree with society/parents wanting to put our kids on drugs because they cannot control them, well lets start w/ a good butt whipping and see what happens. I bet they wisen up quickly. My son came home from 6th grade and told me not to tell anyone but his math teacher asked him if he was taking medication (ritalin) and if so had he taken it today. WTH! If he was on it which he's NOT its not of their business. He is a hyper kid but aren't all kids or shouldnt they be. My husband has refused to get him tested and says the teachers just want an easy way out. I have to agree w/ him.
Reader Comment	Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:43 pm
My son will tell me if they slip him anything. As long as they don't give it to him in a drink. but even then, he should be suspicious.