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Does Baltimore Really Need Personalized Medicine?

October 21, 2019

In a city where three hundred people — most of them young black males – die every year by gunfire, in which the mortality rate for black babies is twice that of white ones, schools are closing early because of lack of air conditioning, and too many citizens dwell in rodent-infested hellholes, is “personalized medicine” really what we need?

Schizophrenia and Suicide

September 23, 2019

In what other branch of medicine have outcomes gotten worse since the Nineteenth Century?

Are Your Genes to Blame for Mental Illness?

August 22, 2019

Is mental illness really just a matter of bad luck in the genetic lottery?

Final Solution for Depression

April 30, 2019

Have you heard about the new cure being touted for so-called “treatment resistant” depression? This remedy is 100 percent effective in ending depressive symptoms, for good.

A New Miracle Drug for Depression? Not so Fast.

March 15, 2019

Disturbingly, there were three suicides in the trials, all in the treatment arm. This finding becomes even more ominous in light of the fact that actively suicidal patients were excluded from these trials.

Hyping biological nature of mental illness worsens stigma

June 02, 2018

These days, calls to end the stigmatization of mental illness have become routine. And who could argue with that? People with serious mental illness are by definition suffering. Why would we want to add to that by deeming them disgraceful as well?

Dog lovers: a city menace?

April 20, 2018

I never cease to be amazed at the spectacular, planet-sized arrogance of some of this city's dog owners.

Antidepressants: worth the risk?

April 04, 2018

“This meta-analysis finally puts to bed the controversy on antidepressants.” 

 

So says Professor Carmine Pariante of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, on the largest ever meta-analysis of the efficacy of antidepressants, published last month in Lancet. 

 

I always thought the whole point of science is that nothing is ever “finally put to bed,” but never mind that for now. What did the study actually find?

Are the drug companies grooming the next generation of customers in the womb?

June 23, 2017

Why do we even call these substances "medicines?"

Cutting edge treatment for obesity

April 12, 2017

As the number of bariatric surgeries has soared, the rates of morbid and malignant obesity have soared as well. Presumably this is not the outcome we were looking for.

A boon for the rehab industry

March 04, 2017

The science is settled, as they say: Drug addiction is a disease, not a moral failing. Fortunately, science has developed safe and effective evidence-based treatments for this disease. How's that working out for us?

Drug companies prey on children

December 25, 2016

Children are exploited as consumers of psychiatric medications as ruthlessly as they once were for their labor.

Can't fit into your jeans? Don't blame your genes

November 25, 2016

Are obese people really helpless victims of their genes?

Stop overmedicating our vets

November 06, 2016

Since 2003, the suicide rate for male veterans of overseas contingency operations ages 18-24 has risen a staggering 359 percent.

A&E show destroys bodies for your viewing pleasure

May 20, 2016

The scariest thing on television these days isn’t “The Walking Dead,” it isn’t “The Hunger,” it isn’t “Sleepy Hollow.” For real bone-chilling terror, try the new Arts & Entertainment series “Fit to Fat to Fit.”

Snow job

May 20, 2016

The message was taped to the windshield of a pickup truck parked on a public street:

 

“This parking space did not magically shovel itself! Be considerate of your neighbors and other people in the neighborhood. DON’T steal parking spaces that people worked for several hours to clear.”

 

The parking space didn’t magically pave itself, either — the taxpayers, presumably including the owner of the pickup truck, paid for that — but that point seems to have eluded the anonymous author of this angry missive.

The statinization of America

May 20, 2016

Anyone who wants to know why medical costs continue to skyrocket needs only to look at the paper published in the July 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that examined the "cost-effectiveness" of increasing statin use. 

Antidepressants: A deadly treatment?

May 20, 2016

The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525, allegedly the intentional act of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, and the deaths of all 150 people on board is indeed a tragedy. But, some good may come out of it if it induces people to take another look at those substances the pharmaceutical industry calls “antidepressants.”

Paying for the Illusion of cheating death

May 20, 2016

Anyone who wants to know why health care costs continue to soar need look no further than the recent recommendation by the American Cancer Society that current and former heavy smokers discuss lung cancer screening with their doctors.

This city is going to the dogs

May 20, 2016

AM I THE only one who has noticed an epidemic of rudeness among Baltimore City's dog owners?

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