Friday, September 28, 2012

Big Pharma's Newest Money-Making Scheme: Adult ADHD

Evelyn Pringle has brought us another expose of disease mongering by the psych drug industry. Here's a snippet. Please visit the original post for all of the details

By Evelyn Pringle and Martha Rosenberg

Who belongs to this “untapped” market? Just about anybody.

There is good news and bad news about attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) -- that is, if you’re a drug company. The bad news is the kid market has peaked out with 4.5 million U.S. children now carrying the label. The good news is adult ADHD is an emerging market. In fact, adult ADHD, with symptoms similar to pediatric ADHD such as impulsivity, distractibility and difficulty paying attention, following instructions and meeting deadlines, is the next big thing.

"Immature adult market continues to offer greatest commercial potential," read a 2008 press release to the pharmaceutical industry from the market research agency Datamonitor: "Estimated to be twice the size of the pediatric ADHD population, the highly prevalent, yet largely untapped, adult ADHD population continues to represent an attractive niche to target."
Also seen on Alternet here

Monday, September 10, 2012

10 Mind-Boggling Psychiatric Treatments

As posted on Mental Floss

Nobody ever claimed a visit to the doctor was a pleasant way to pass the time. But if you're timid about diving onto a psychiatrist's couch or paranoid about popping pills, remember: It could be worse. Like getting-a-hole-drilled-into-your-skull worse.
Gems include Insulin-Coma Therapy, Malaria Therapy, Chemically Induced Seizures, and of course, Lobotomy Check out the link for the full article