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Thursday 31 March 2011

Bullied 10-year-old who hanged himself whilst taking APPROVED SSRI Prozac - full story that Fiddaman as usual fails to report!

Bullied 10-year-old who hanged himself 'did not realise what he was doing'


Tragic: Harry Hucknall, 10, was found hanged in his bedroom with a level of anti-depressant drugs in his body higher than would be found in an adult

A 10-year-old boy who was suffering from depression did not understand what he was doing when he hanged himself in his bedroom, a coroner ruled today.



Harry Hucknall was a 'troubled boy' who had suffered at the hands of bullies but he did not commit suicide, an inquest into his death was told.



Post-mortem tests on his body found the level of anti-depressant drugs found in his system were above the normal therapeutic level for adults.



The youngster was discovered in his locked room at his home in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, on September 19 last year.



He was a twice-removed cousin on his father's side of singer Mick Hucknall, the frontman for 1990s chart-toppers Simply Red.



The hearing at Barrow Town Hall was told that Harry had been diagnosed with clinical depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and was prescribed an anti-depressant and Ritalin.



He had also self-harmed and possibly experimented in risking his life before.



West Cumbria Coroner Ian Smith said: 'This was not suicide for one minute. I record that Harry died as a consequence of his own actions without understanding their true consequences.



'Nobody expected this to happen or foresee it or even fear it may happen.



'The loss of a child when self-inflicted is a double tragedy for everyone, for both the family and society.



'I do believe it reflects upon society on how we expect children to behave. We expect them to be little adults.



'I think it is very sad. He was clearly a troubled boy. We have heard he was bullied, although the precise circumstances are not clear.



'He was subject to bullying over a prolonged period where he got on the butt of other people's attentions. That sadly developed to self-harming.'



The inquest heard that it was difficult to say how the drugs affected Harry's state of mind but their influence could not be excluded.



The levels of both drugs found in his system were above the normal therapeutic level for adults.

Narrative verdict: A coroner sitting at Barrow Town Hall found that the youngster did not intend to take his own life






Mr Smith said he did not criticise their prescription in Harry's circumstances, nor did he argue that the drugs should not be used by children, but he pointed out that doctors must be 'extremely careful' in prescribing powerful drugs to 10-year-olds.



He said: 'We as a society quite rightly try to stop children dabbling in street drugs and yet a child with this label of ADHD is prescribed, under supervision, mind-altering drugs of a very powerful nature - the full consequences of which I still do not believe are fully understood.



'It is very difficult to speculate how these two drugs could affect Harry's mental state. It seems very much to me that these drugs and their levels and the measurement of those levels are still a work in progress from the point of medical science.'



The hearing was told that Harry's mother, Jane White, and his father, Darren Hucknall, separated more than seven years ago and that Harry lived with his mother and his siblings, two brothers and a sister.



The family had moved home 14 times for various reasons, which Mr Smith said had led to a 'lack of stability' for a 'sensitive lad, growing up in surroundings not right for him'.



Ms White said her son was quiet and preferred to play on his own in his early childhood.



The bullying started when she lived in Barrow and he was attacked in the street by some other children.



'One of them held him down with a screwdriver,' she said. 'We had to move to Dalton because Harry did not want to go out.'



A later incident followed involving the youngster's best friend, who was said to have been attacked with a bat by an adult.



Ms White said Harry became stressed when he was asked to give his version of events and admitted he had not fully seen the incident. He felt he had let his friend down, she added.



Harry was later referred to social services, his mental health was assessed and he was eventually prescribed the drugs which professionals said improved his condition, the inquest heard.



Harry's father questioned the use of the drugs.



Giving evidence, he said: 'I think it was a major contribution to what happened. He went really quiet, he never mentioned he wanted to kill himself before the tablets.'



He recalled a conversation they had a couple of months after his son started taking the drugs early last year.



'He said he wanted to kill himself, he just came out with it,' he said. 'I said "Why are you saying that?" He said it was funny and I said "I don't think it's funny" and he said sorry.



'I think he was just saying it to get a response.'



Referring to that incident, the coroner said: 'That is a clear indication that he did not realise what it meant. He did not realise what the consequences would be.



'Most certainly I do not think a 10-year-old with the problems he had got could possibly have thought in the cold of light that that was the best thing he could do.'



He recorded a narrative verdict.



For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.

Nazi soldiers given highly addictive crystal meth - Pervitin amphetamines

Junkies in jackboots: Nazi soldiers given highly addictive crystal meth to help them fight harder and longer






Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1371512/Nazis-fed-speed-infantrymen-tested-cocaine-like-stimulant-concentration-camps.html#ixzz1IAnBoEjv




FIDDAMAN bought by Scientology - The Evidence is Clear

see http://pharmagiles.blogspot.com/2011/02/go-fiddy.html



"You see, CCHR and I are alike in as much that we have a pretty 'bang on' sense of humour. What could piss off GlaxoSmithKline more than Bob Fiddaman getting an award for basically highlighting their dark history? With a wry smile someone at CCHR thought it would be highly entertaining to sit me around a table with the office of Baum Hedlund Attorneys. A classic two finger salute to the Paxil/Seroxat Pushers."




Wednesday 30 March 2011

exploited by CCHR vulnerable wrist slashing Professor Dean detained under the mental health act


Prof Dean, of Queen’s Own Place, Forres, complained after being detained for just over a month in a locked ward at Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen in 2004.

The “catalogue of horrors” he alleges took place included patients being forced to take medicines by care staff.


Read more: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/703401?UserKey=#ixzz1I7V60Cdt

CCHR commissioner James A Mackie infiltrates Autism issues Scotland

http://www.jamesamackie.com/WEB%20PAGES%20OF%20INTEREST%20FOR%20AUTISTIC%20GROUPS%20ver%205.htm

FIDDAMAN blog "intrusive multiple pop ups - - cause damage to a computer"

Moray Mental Health Association - infiltrated by Scientology / CCHR ?

Campaigner Jim Mackie witnessed the former chairman of Moray Mental Health Association's protest.


(CCHR commissioner) Mr Mackie said: ''It all happened very quickly. He had put up several placards and had made a speech

Vulnerable pensioner slashed wrist whilst CCHR commissioner Jim Mackie stands by - parliamentary protest 2004

A MENTAL health campaigner slashed his wrists in front of Scots politician Malcolm

Chisholm yesterday.

Walter ''Dixie'' Dean had advertised his protest on an internet chatroom.

The 67-year-old cut two half-inch gashes in his wrists as Health Minister Chisholm walked in to the parliament building in Edinburgh.

He held his bloodied arms up but the minister did not see the protest.

Mr Dean, of Forres, Moray has been trying to get a report he compiled on mental health services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract taken onboard.

Campaigner Jim Mackie witnessed the former chairman of Moray Mental Health Association's protest.

Mr Mackie said: ''It all happened very quickly. He had put up several placards and had made a speech.

''Just as he slashed his wrists, Malcolm Chisholm arrived in a taxi.

''But he quickly moved inside the building as police apprehended Dixie and called an ambulance.''

Mr Dean was then rushed to the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.



An Executive spokesman said Chisholm did not see the incident.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Scottish Daily Record & Sunday

No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.

Copyright 2004 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.


 
 
 
 
NOTE click on link Jim Mackie    to get proof that he is a CCHR/Scientology commissioner !!





Bullies play the Mental Health Trap, claiming their target is "mentally ill"

The serial bully is an adult on the outside but a child on the inside; he or she is like a child who has never grown up. One suspects that the bully is emotionally retarded and has a level of emotional development equivalent to a five-year-old, or less. The bully wants to enjoy the benefits of living in the adult world, but is unable and unwilling to accept the responsibilities that go with enjoying the benefits of the adult world. In short, the bully has never learnt to accept responsibility for their behaviour.


http://ssocialactivism.blogspot.com/

When called to account for the way they have chosen to behave, the bully instinctively exhibits this recognisable behavioural response:

a) Denial: the bully denies everything. Variations include Trivialization ("This is so trivial it's not worth talking about...") and the Fresh Start tactic ("I don't know why you're so intent on dwelling on the past" and "Look, what's past is past, I'll overlook your behaviour and we'll start afresh") - this is an abdication of responsibility by the bully and an attempt to divert and distract attention by using false conciliation. Imagine if this line of defence were available to all criminals ("Look I know I've just murdered 12 people but that's all in the past, we can't change the past, let's put it behind us, concentrate on the future so we can all get on with our lives" - this would do wonders for prison overcrowding).



b) Retaliation: the bully counterattacks. The bully quickly and seamlessly follows the denial with an aggressive counter-attack of counter-criticism or counter-allegation, often based on distortion or fabrication. Lying, deception, duplicity, hypocrisy and blame are the hallmarks of this stage. The purpose is to avoid answering the question and thus avoid accepting responsibility for their behaviour. Often the target is tempted - or coerced - into giving another long explanation to prove the bully's allegation false; by the time the explanation is complete, everybody has forgotten the original question.

Both a) and b) are delivered with aggression in the guise of assertiveness; in fact there is no assertiveness (which is about recognising and respecting the rights of oneself and others) at all. Note that explanation - of the original question - is conspicuous by its absence.

c) Feigning victimhood: in the unlikely event of denial and counter-attack being insufficient, the bully feigns victimhood or feigns persecution by manipulating people through their emotions, especially guilt. This commonly takes the form of bursting into tears, which most people cannot handle. Variations include indulgent self-pity, feigning indignation, pretending to be "devastated", claiming they're the one being bullied or harassed, claiming to be "deeply offended", melodrama, martyrdom ("If it wasn't for me...") and a poor-me drama ("You don't know how hard it is for me ... blah blah blah ..." and "I'm the one who always has to...", "You think you're having a hard time ...", "I'm the one being bullied..."). Other tactics include manipulating people's perceptions to portray themselves as the injured party and the target as the villain of the piece. Or presenting as a false victim. Sometimes the bully will suddenly claim to be suffering "stress" and go off on long-term sick leave, although no-one can quite establish why. Alleged ill-health can also be a useful vehicle for gaining attention and sympathy.





By using this response, the bully is able to avoid answering the question and thus avoid accepting responsibility for what they have said or done. It is a pattern of behaviour learnt by about the age of 3; most children learn or are taught to grow out of this, but some are not and by adulthood, this avoidance technique has been practised to perfection.





A further advantage of the denial/counter-attack/feigning victimhood strategy is that it acts as a provocation. The target, who may have taken months to reach this stage, sees their tormentor getting away with it and is provoked into an angry and emotional outburst after which the bully says simply "There, I told you s/he was like that". Anger is one of the mechanisms by which bullies (and all abusers) control their targets. By tapping in to and obtaining an inappropriate release of pent-up anger the bully plays their master stroke and casts their victim as villain.





When called to account for the way they have chosen to behave, mature adults do not respond by bursting into tears. If you're dealing with a serial bully who has just exhibited this avoidance tactic, sit passively and draw attention to the pattern of behaviour they've just exhibited, and then the purpose of the tactic. Then ask for an answer to the question.





Bullies also rely on the denial of others and the fact that when their target reports the abuse they will be disbelieved ("are your sure this is really going on?", "I find it hard to believe - are you sure you're not imagining it?"). Frequently targets are asked why they didn't report the abuse before, and they will usually reply "because I didn't think anyone would believe me." Sadly they are often right in this assessment. Because of the Jekyll & Hyde nature, compulsive lying, and plausibility, no-one can - or wants - to believe it. Denial features in most cases of sexual assault, as in the case of Paul Hickson, the UK Olympic swimming coach who sexually assaulted and raped teenage girls in his care over a period of 20 years or more. When his victims were asked why they didn't report the abuse, most replied "Because I didn't think anyone would believe me". Abusers confidently, indeed arrogantly, rely on this belief, often aggressively inculcating (instilling) the belief ("No-one will ever believe you") just after the sexual assault when their victim is in a distressed state. Targets of bullying in the workplace often come up against the same attitudes by management when they report a bullying colleague. In a workplace environment, the bully usually recruits one or two colleagues (sometimes one is a sleeping partner - see Affairs below) who will back up the bully's denial when called to account.





Reflection





Serial bullies harbour a particular hatred of anyone who can articulate their behaviour profile, either verbally or in writing - as on this page - in a manner which helps other people see through their deception and their mask of deceit. The usual instinctive response is to launch a bitter personal attack on the person's credentials, lack of qualifications, and right to talk about personality disorders, psychopathic personality etc, whilst preserving their right to talk about anything they choose - all the while adding nothing to the debate themselves.

Serial bullies hate to see themselves and their behaviour reflected as if they are looking into a mirror.





Projection





Bullies project their inadequacies, shortcomings, behaviours etc on to other people to avoid facing up to their inadequacy and doing something about it (learning about oneself can be painful), and to distract and divert attention away from themselves and their inadequacies. Projection is achieved through blame, criticism and allegation; once you realise this, every criticism, allegation etc that the bully makes about their target is actually an admission or revelation about themselves. This knowledge can be used to perceive the bully's own misdemeanours; for instance, when the allegations are of financial or sexual impropriety, it is likely that the bully has committed these acts; when the bully makes an allegation of abuse (such allegations tend to be vague and non-specific), it is likely to be the bully who has committed the abuse. When the bully makes allegations of, say, "cowardice" or "negative attitude" it is the bully who is a coward or has a negative attitude.





In these circumstances, the bully has to understand that if specious and insubstantive allegations are made, the bully will also be investigated.

When the symptoms of psychiatric injury become apparent to others, most bullies will play the Mental Health Trap, claiming their target is "mentally ill" or "mentally unstable" or has a "mental health problem". It is more likely that this allegation is a projection of the bully's own mental health problems. If this trap is being used on you, assert "projection" as a defence against disciplinary action or as part of your legal proceedings.





It is a key identifying feature of a person with a personality disorder or psychopathic personality that, when called to account, they will accuse the person who is unmasking them of being the one with the personality disorder or psychopathic personality from which they (the bully) suffer.

bottles of antidepressants contained prostrate drug & vice versa

Possible Label Switch Prompts Pfizer Recall


http://www.medpagetoday.com/ProductAlert/Prescriptions/25560



A possible label switch affecting an antidepressant and a drug used to shrink the prostate prompted a Pfizer subsidiary to recall both drugs.



The affected drugs -- both generic formulations -- are citalopram, an antidepressant, and finasteride, which is used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia.



"Bottles labeled as citalopram Lot # FI0510058-A may contain finasteride," according to an announcement from Greenstone LLC, the Pfizer unit selling the products.



The company said the recall stemmed from "the possibility that incorrect labels have been placed on the bottles by a third-party manufacturer." It said only the one lot was affected.



Patients with bottles of either drug with this lot number on the label should return the products to the pharmacy, the company said.



The lot number involves citalopram in 100-count bottles of 10-mg tablets and finasteride in 90-count bottles of 5-mg tablets.



Patients taking the wrong medications may be at risk for serious adverse effects, Greenstone stressed.



"Women who are, or may become pregnant, should not take or handle finasteride due to the possible risk of... abnormalities to the external genitalia of a developing male fetus," the company noted.



Moreover, patients who discontinue citalopram abruptly by inadvertently taking the mislabeled product may experience withdrawal symptoms and/or worsening depression.



Greenstone also indicated that some finasteride-labeled bottles may contain the antidepressant. It warned that citalopram is contraindicated in patients taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors or pimozide because of adverse effects associated with the combination















Tardive Dysphoria - Long-Term Effect Of Antidepressant Drugs

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/218435.php




Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) may be related to inadequate dosing of antidepressants or antidepressant tolerance. Alternatively, there are reasons to believe that antidepressant treatment itself may contribute to a chronic depressive syndrome. This study reports a case of antidepressant discontinuation in a TRD patient, a 67-year-old white man with onset of major depressive illness at the age of 45. He was homozygous for the short form of the serotonin transporter. He was treated off and on until the age of 59 and had been on an antidepressant continuously until the age of 67. Over the previous 2 years he had been depressed without any relief by medication or 2 electroconvulsive treatments. His medications at the time of evaluation included paroxetine 10 mg daily, venlafaxine 75 mg daily and clonazepam 3 mg daily. His 17-item Hamilton depression score was 22. Over the subsequent 6 months, he was started on bupropion and then tapered off all antidepressants, including the bupropion. His Hamilton depression score dropped to 18. The patient was not satisfied with his progress and sought another opinion to restart antidepressants. One year later, on duloxetine 60 mg daily, he continued to complain of unremitting depression.



A possible prodepressant effect of antidepressants has been previously proposed. Fava was the first to suggest that an antidepressant-related neurobiochemical mechanism of increasing vulnerability to depression might play a role in worsening the long-term outcome of the illness. Understanding of potential mechanisms of this phenomenon can be gleaned from observations regarding the short form of the serotonin transporter (5HTTR). Patients with the short form of the 5HTTR and prolonged antidepressant exposure, may be particularly vulnerable to antidepressant-related worsening. In other words, prolonged exposure to antidepressants can induce neuroplastic changes that result in the genesis of antidepressant-induced dysphoric symptoms. The investigators propose the term 'tardive dysphoria' to describe such a phenomenon and describe diagnostic criteria for it. Tapering or discontinuing the antidepressant might reverse the dysphoric state. Antidepressant discontinuation may not provide immediate relief. In fact, it is likely that transient symptoms of withdrawal will occur in the initial 2-4 weeks following antidepressant discontinuation or tapering. However, after a prolonged period of antidepressant abstinence, one may see a gradual return to the patient's baseline.



Source: Journal of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, AlphaGalileo Foundation.

Folate Deficiency Common in Major Depression - L-Methylfolate May Help

Adjunctive L-Methylfolate May Help in Treatment-Resistant Depression


Folate Deficiency Common in Major Depression

Jill Stein



Authors and Disclosures







March 18, 2011 (Vienna, Austria) L-methylfolate is showing promise as an augmenting agent for depressed patients who are unresponsive to traditional antidepressants, new research suggested.



Presented here at EPA 2011: 19th European Congress of Psychiatry, the study results revealed L-methylfolate, 15 mg/d, was effective, safe, and relatively well tolerated as an adjunct treatment strategy for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) who were partial responders or nonresponders to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy.



"According to the literature, only about 1 of every 3 patients with depression will achieve remission with standard antidepressant monotherapy," principal investigator George Papakostas, MD, who is director of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) studies, Psychiatry Division at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston, told Medscape Medical News.



"So it's clear that we need better therapies for depression. We found that L-methylfolate, 15 mg/d, produced favorable results, but the data are preliminary and need to be replicated in a larger trial," he added.



For the roughly two-thirds of patients who are inadequate responders or nonresponders, augmentation strategies or switching strategies altogether are indicated, he added.



A variety of treatment options are available, including atypical agents, folates, or lithium, but the choice of therapy ultimately depends on the patient's individual profile and his/her personal preference.



Dr. Papakostas presented results from 2 multicenter, placebo-controlled trials of L-methylfolate used as an adjunct to SSRI therapy in patients with SSRI-resistant MDD who were 18 to 65 years of age. SSRI doses remained constant throughout the 2 TRD studies, which enrolled a total of 223 patients.



Folate Deficiency Common in MDD



Roughly 70% of patients with MDD have a specific genetic factor that causes L-methylfolate deficiency. Individuals with deficient L-methylfolate are more likely to experience a later onset of action, less improvement, a more severe depressive episode, and a higher chance of relapse when taking conventional antidepressants.



Several studies have examined the use of folic acid or various folic acid metabolites, such as folinic acid and methyltetrahydrofolate, as either monotherapy or adjunctive therapy for MDD.



L-methylfolate was selected as the augmenting agent in the 2 TRD studies because of evidence suggesting it may have advantages with respect to bioavailability over other folates. L-methylfolate is thought to work as an augmenting agent to antidepressants by acting as a trimonoamine modulator, enhancing the synthesis of the 3 monoamines, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, and thereby boosting the efficacy of antidepressants.



Significant Benefit



In the TRD-1 study, 148 patients were randomized in a 2:3:3 design to receive either L-methylfolate for 60 days (7.5 mg/d in phase 1 and 15 mg/d in phase 2), placebo for 30 days followed by L-methylfolate for 30 days (7.5 mg/d), or placebo for 60 days.



The 75-patient TRD-2 was identical in design to TRD-1 except for a target dose of 15 mg/d of L-methylfolate throughout both phases.



The coprimary endpoints for both studies were the differences in response rates and in degree of improvement in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) between treatment groups. An HDRS-17 response was defined asa 50% or greater reduction in HDRS-17 scale scores during treatment or a final score of 7 or less.



The TRD-1 study found no difference in outcome between the treatment groups.



The TRD-2 study showed greater efficacy for adjunctive 15 mg/d of L-methylfolate administered for up to 30 days vs placebo when added to continued SSRI therapy plus placebo on both primary outcome measures (degree of change and response rates according to the HDRS, P = .05 and .04, respectively).



There was no difference in the rates of treatment withdrawal due to adverse events in the L-methylfolate 15 mg/d/antidepressant and the placebo/antidepressant groups.



Finally, the number of patients needed to treat (NNT) for a response in the TRD-2 study was between 5 and 6 patients in favor of adjunctive 15 mg/dof L-methylfolate vs placebo. "This is on a par with NNTs reported for other augmentation strategies in MDD," Dr. Papakostas said.



Funding for the study was provided by Pamlab LLC in Covington, Louisiana. Dr. Papakostas has served as a consultant for Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca PLC, Brainsway Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Cephalon Inc, Eli Lilly Co, GlaxoSmithKline, Evotec AG, Inflabloc Pharmaceuticals, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, PAMLAB LLC, Pfizer Inc, Pierre Fabre Laboratories, Ridge Diagnostics (formerly known as Precision Human Biolaboratories), Shire Pharmaceuticals, and Wyeth Inc. He has received honoraria from Abbott Laboratories, Astra Zeneca PLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Brainsway Ltd, Cephalon Inc, Eli Lilly Co, Evotec AG, GlaxoSmithKline, Inflabloc Pharmaceuticals, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Lundbeck, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, PAMLAB LLC, Pfizer, Pierre Fabre Laboratories, Ridge Diagnostics, Shire Pharmaceuticals, Titan Pharmaceuticals, and Wyeth Inc. He has received research support from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Forest Pharmaceuticals, the National Institute of Mental Health, PAMLAB LLC, Pfizer Inc, and Ridge Diagnostics (formerly known as Precision Human Biolaboratories). Finally, Dr. Papakostas has served (in the past but not currently) on the speaker's bureau for BristolMyersSquibb Co and Pfizer Inc.



EPA 2011: 19th European Congress of Psychiatry: P01-588. Presented March 13, 2011.





Prozac-induced brain changes linked to unstable behaviour

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/wchung/detail?entry_id=84999


Winston Chung Child Psychiatrist March 15th 2011



Prozac-induced brain changes linked to unstable behavior

Clinicians sometimes choose medications based on unique characteristics like side effect profiles. An example of this is choosing a drug with a side effect of sedation and giving it at night for someone who has difficulty with sleep.



Fluoxetine, also known by the brand-name Prozac, has often been called an 'activating' drug. Due to this reputation, some clinicians will consider it for patients with low energy or schedule it for the morning, and others might avoid it in patients who are highly anxious.



Drugs in the same class as fluoxetine, also known as SSRIs, are sometimes also avoided due to concerns of causing a side effect known as a manic switch - which is when someone goes from having symptoms of depression and low energy to having increased energy, decreased need for sleep and elevated mood.



A new research study from Japan has demonstrated that chronic treatment of adult mice with fluoxetine (Prozac) causes changes to brain cells that were associated with day-to-day fluctuations in activity levels as well as anxiety-related behaviors. The study was published in the journal Molecular Brain.



Dr. Katsunori Kobayashi is the lead author and he told me that this work is the first to link a destabilization in behavior to SSRI-induced neuronal plasticity. Plasticity is the ability of the brain cell or neuron to change its connections and interactions with other neurons. Previous research has associated SSRI-induced plasticity with antidepressant effects.



The researchers gave fluoxetine at a higher and lower dose to mice for 4 weeks. At first they noticed a slight decrease in activity at both doses. After 2 weeks of treatment, the mice at the higher dose started to show "marked day-to-day fluctuation of activity levels that was accompanied by occasional switching from hypoactivity to hyperactivity and vice-versa." This destabilized activity was accompanied by increased anxiety-related behaviors and could be observed up to 4 weeks after withdrawal from fluoxetine.



At a cellular level, the authors noted that the behavioral changes, including anxiety-related behaviors, were associated with fluoxetine-induced adaptations in hippocampal granule cells, which are specialized cells found in the brain.



They previously showed that fluoxetine could reverse the state of maturation of hippocampal granule cells in adult mice. This fluoxetine-induced plasticity or 'dematuration' causes the cell to revert back to a juvenile state where it is doesn't work as well with other specialized cells. In this study, the authors noted that the behavioral and cellular effects persisted after fluoxetine was discontinued. Dr. Katsunori reported that "the dematuration can be observed 1 month after discontinuation, so it is not readily reversible."



One of the obvious limitations to this study is the fact that what happens in mice doesn't necessarily translate to humans. Another limitation is the supratherapeutic dosing used in the mice, 22mg/kg/day at the higher dose and even 14mg/kg/day at the lower dose. In a 150 pound human, this would equal taking up to 1500 mg of Prozac per day and most people don't take more than 80 mg daily. It would also be considered quite a leap to extrapolate a manic switch from "marked day-to-day fluctuation of activity levels."



Despite these limitations, this study could help shed some light on how these drugs affect our brains, and may provide a potential neurobiological basis for why Prozac may be 'activating'.



Dr. Katsunori stated that clinicians should be careful about interpreting the behavioral effects of the drugs, but that their results suggest that "Prozac may cause destabilized behavior" at higher doses or "possibly in combination with other drugs that can effect metabolism of Prozac or enhance its central action."







Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/wchung/detail?entry_id=84999#ixzz1HQzxHLwF



Antidepressants Linked to Glaucoma in Elderly

Antidepressants Linked to Glaucoma in Elderly


Deborah Brauser



Authors and Disclosures





http://www.blogger.com/goog_1715751909

March 21, 2011 (San Antonio, Texas) Recent use of antidepressants may be linked to the development of acute angle closure glaucoma (AACG) in adults over age 66, new research suggests.



Presenting here at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) 2011 Annual Meeting, investigators of a case-crossover study of more than 5000 elderly patients with AACG found a significantly increased risk for "any antidepressant exposure" in the time period immediately preceding the condition. They also found a more than 2-fold increased risk for AACG in patients in the mixed serotonergic/noradrenergic treatment subgroup.



"The takeaway is that antidepressant exposure is associated with [AACG], although it's a pretty rare cause," principal investigator Dallas P. Seitz, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry in the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, told Medscape Medical News.





Dr. Dallas P. Seitz

"For me as a clinician, if I'm starting a patient on an antidepressant and they're complaining of blurred vision or visual changes, I'll be more vigilant that this might be a sign of a serious ophthalmologic condition and either consider referring them for ophthalmic or optometric evaluation or decreasing their medication depending on how severe their symptoms are," said Dr. Seitz.



Increased Risk



The investigators note that although some case reports have suggested that antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are associated with the development of AACG, no large-scale studies have examined this topic before.



Dr. Seitz and colleagues evaluated records from linked Ontario administrative databases on 5642 elderly individuals (66.3% female; mean age, 74.4 years) diagnosed with AACG between 1997 and 2009.



Exposure was defined as a prescription for any antidepressant. Further subanalysis examined any use of an anticholinergic, SSRI, or mixed serotonergic/noradrenergic antidepressant.



Results showed that 5.6% of all study participants with AACG were "intermittent users" of antidepressants, meaning they used 1 of these drugs during the year before diagnosis. The most frequently prescribed subclass was anticholinergic antidepressants (3.2% of all users), followed by SSRIs and mixed serotonergic/noradrenergic agents (at 1.4% and 1%, respectively).



Amitriptyline was the most commonly prescribed anticholinergic (44.79% of that subgroup), followed by paroxetine (24.58%). The most prescribed SSRIs were citalopram (60.76%) and sertraline (27.85%), and the most prescribed agents from the mixed group were trazodone (45.76%) and venlafaxine (35.59%).



Antidepressant exposure was more common in the time period immediately preceding AACG (from 0 to 30 days before diagnosis) than in the 2 control periods of 61 to 90 days and 91 to 120 days preceding (odds ratio [OR], 1.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22 - 2.53; P = .003).



The mixed serotonergic/noradrenergic subgroup had a significantly increased risk of developing AACG (OR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.04 - 7.05), but the risk was not significant in the other 2 antidepressant subgroups.



Calling the robustness of this last finding "a bit surprising," Dr. Seitz said that the mixed-action drugs may be hitting multiple receptors on the pupil, which can lead to this condition.



Strengthens Causation



"We hypothesized, based on the previous case studies that people should develop [AACG] soon after starting an antidepressant if there is an association and that's what we found. And although the results weren't always statistically significant in the different subgroups we looked at, there was a pretty consistent effect across the anticholinergic drugs, SSRIs, and newer antidepressants," reported Dr. Seitz.



"We also found that the effect wasn't just limited to people who were on other anticholinergic drugs or had other risk factors for [AACG]. So it further strengthens the possible association between the drugs being causative."



Although the association between antidepressant exposure and AACG development was also statistically significant in women (P < .05) but not in men, Dr. Seitz reported that "that might be a power issue" because there were more women in the study and their exposure to these drugs was higher.



"As clinicians, we certainly see people who complain of visual problems after taking antidepressants and usually think it might be related to dry eyes. But these findings should make us a bit more aware that ocular complaints might be more serious than that," cautioned Dr. Seitz.



He said that the investigators next hope to look at other ophthalmologic complications that may be associated with antidepressants and other medications.



Replication Needed



"In this particular study, there's a somewhat modest increased odds ratio of acute narrow-angle glaucoma in antidepressant use. And if that is actually true, then over the course of millions of antidepressant prescriptions, that could be many, many cases of this condition," Eric Lenze, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, told Medscape Medical News.





Dr. Eric Lenze

However, Dr. Lenze, who is also chair of the 2011 AAGP annual meeting committee and incoming chair of the AAGP's research committee, cautioned that this association was not studied in a randomized, controlled design.



"It might be that only in a design like that could you be sure that the risk is attributable to the medication and not some confounding factor. That said, the investigators did use a much more powerful study design than is usually used in these studies of antidepressant risk."



Dr. Lenze reported that "based on percentages," older adults now make up the second largest group of antidepressant users, and people "who are about to become older adults in the next 10 years" make up the largest group.



"That means that compared to a generation ago, we now have 5 to 8 times as many adults on these medications. And I think we're still grappling with the fact that that means there are potential risks that on a population level of that size could become quite important to public health."



He noted, however, that AACG "is a fairly rare problem" and is something that psychiatrists are not used to managing.



"The individual psychiatrist might treat 500 to 1000 people with antidepressants and not ever see this condition occur. So I would say it would be very difficult to imagine how this could translate into a change in practice at the individual clinician level. Instead, it may be something that will need to be considered in practice guidelines as far as considerations for certain high-risk patients."



"My hope is that other researchers, who have similar datasets and can look longitudinally within their cases, would try to replicate this finding," he concluded.



The study was funded by a team grant from the Canadian Institute of Health Research. Dr. Seitz reported no relevant financial relationships. Dr. Lenze reported receiving research support from Forest Laboratories and having a federally funded study that receives free medication from Pfizer and Bristol-Meyers Squibb.



American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) 2011 Annual Meeting: Abstract EI-53. Presented March 19, 2011.





Antidepressants Japan - Possible protection from radiation?

from - http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SSRI-Crusaders/message/36721 @


Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:03 am



that didn't take them long to come up with this ..... out of adversity a new potential market for antidepressants


http://www.blogger.com/goog_532939359

Possible protection from radiation





By GERARD SCULLY

Bradenton, Florida

To the Japanese health ministry: I am a semi-retired, former Yale medical school professor, an immunopharmacologist, and a specialist in the pathology and pharmacology of prostaglandins.



The toxicity of any environmental agent is determined by its potential to induce prostaglandin E2. It is well known that aspirin and ibuprofen inhibit prostaglandin E2, but not that antidepressants and lithium do so as well. Antidepressants have remarkable anticancer and cancer-preventing properties, and are known to protect nonmalignant cells from chemotherapy and ionizing radiation toxicity.



Depressed individuals have impaired immune function, and are most at risk from radiation toxicity. Antidepressants may be able to protect them. I would tend to favor antidepressants, in preference to lithium. It is the human and ethical right of everyone to be made aware of this information. All treatment decisions must be made in consultation with a physician.



The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.





Government cracks down on the 'no win, no fee' lawyers

We want justice: Ken Clarke wants to make it easier for people to pursue legal cases, without fear of huge bills


Kenneth Clarke will today sound the death knell for 'no win, no fee' deals which encourage ambulance-chasing lawyers to pursue frivolous cases.


Victorious solicitors will now have to take a share of the damages awarded, rather than claiming huge success fees.


The Justice Secretary will also raise the maximum damages which can be awarded in small claims courts from £5,000 to £15,000.


Mr Clarke wants as many people as possible to settle civil disputes through this less bureaucratic system, where costs are kept to a minimum, or by mediation.


Lawyers are not always needed in small claims courts, and many 'no win no fee' solicitors do not operate in them because there is not enough money to be made.


Everybody lodging a civil claim for damages will be forced to consider mediation. A similar move is planned for divorce cases.


Mr Clarke will say the aim is to reverse a trend which has seen Britain become a 'very, very legalistic and litigious' society in which huge sums are paid to 'fat cat' lawyers.


Many of those in 'no win, no fee' deals claim success fees up to 100 per cent of legal costs at the expense of the person or organisation that loses. Some claims are more than 1,000 per cent of damages.



Campaigners say the payouts have had a 'chilling' effect on freedom of speech, forcing scientists, writers and newspapers to settle even flimsy libel accusations out of court rather than risk the huge costs of losing. NHS trusts have also been affected in this way.


In future, lawyers will take a share of the damages awarded to the winner the same as in the U.S.



For every sensible citizen of Middle England, resorting to the law has become something to dread.


Frivolous claims are brought against small firms; legal costs grow out of all proportion to the value of the damage done; fines are imposed but never collected.


Too often the system seems to create problems, rather than solving those which caused the dispute in the first place.

For most people, fighting a case, enforcing a contract or resolving a dispute with a neighbour means months of anxiety, hassle and delay.

More often than not, the only certainty is that the bill, when it arrives, will be larger than expected.

Today I am announcing reforms which I hope will begin to tackle the compensation culture and restore a sense of proportion to our legal system.


First, we will encourage people to solve their disputes through formal mediation rather than heading straight to court with all the cost and time that entails.


Second, we will fix the 'no win, no fee' agreements which have made it so costly for businesses to defend spurious claims that they often pay out, even when they know they are in the right.

And third, we will put more cases into the quicker, cheaper small claims and county courts, keeping costs down even further.


I hope that one day, normal citizens will regard going to a lawyer as a sensible way of sorting out a dispute not the expensive nightmare that people fear now.

These reforms are the first important steps towards that goal.

This will be capped at 25 per cent of the damages awarded by the court.

Judges will be told to increase damages by 10 per cent to ensure that those who win still receive the money they deserve.


Lawyers will also be forced to reach an agreement with their clients before a case begins over how much of the damages they will receive if successful.

It is hoped that, by making lawyers compete for business in this way, success fees will be driven down significantly.


The number of claims made by ambulance-chasing solicitors is likely to fall as defendants freed from the threat of massive costs become more likely to fight back.


Daytime television is packed with adverts for 'no win, no fee' lawyers. They encourage people who have had even minor accidents at work or in their car to pursue civil claims.


In a report last year, Lord Justice Jackson said there had been a huge rise in civil litigation costs.

The fees awarded to lawyers were sometimes more than 1,000 per cent of damages, he said.

People making claims in clinical negligence cases and other incidents where they have suffered harm will be able to do so without fear of huge costs.


A judge will be able to put a ceiling on the amount they will be made to pay even if they lose.

This is designed to prevent people who have been seriously wronged from being afraid to claim compensation.


The moves come after Mr Clarke this month announced a string of reforms to Britain's defamation laws.

In future, the rich and powerful will have to prove they have suffered or are likely to suffer 'substantial harm' from the words of their critics to sue successfully for libel.


A defence of 'honest opinion' would replace that of 'fair comment', meaning that it will be a defence against libel to establish that something was published responsibly, without malice and in the public interest.


Read more: http://www.blogger.com/goog_1600866807



Monday 28 March 2011

CCHR 42nd Anniversary Awards - Feb 12th, 2011 - buy a table @ $100,000


https://www.cchrint.org/store/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=10&cchrsid=tkgned9rk9evd084u53hsc6fj0


Saturday, Feb 12th, 2011
The Westin Bonaventure Hotel
404 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, California 90071

Silent Auction and Reception at 5:00 pm
Doors open for seating at 6:30 pm

Diamond Benefactor
$90,000 (Before January 1, 2011)
$100,000 (After January 1, 2011)

Select seating for 20 plus Premier seating for 10
VIP after party
Top ad placement in event program, i.e. inside
front or back cover or inside center spread
Prominent venue signage
Exclusive VIP after-party signage
Photo opportunity with CCHR awardees
Exclusive opportunity to speak on stage during event


Sunday 27 March 2011

FIDDAMAN - I know nothing about SSRI's other than SEROXAT

a reply on the "single issue tub thump" but different to the one he gave on UKsurvivors



'Seroxat Tub Thump'




(Bob Fiddaman said)  



I have researched Seroxat and no other SSRi. If you or any other person want to ask about any other SSRi then create a blog like I did instead of creating a blog about someone you are obsessed with. Maybe then, you may get your questions about other SSRi's answered.



I have been granted a meeting with the MHRA. I will be discussing the Seroxat withdrawal issue because that is what I write about. If you want to discuss anything with them why don't you ask for a meeting?



It is not my job to discuss SSRi's that I know nothing about.

I am uneducated when it comes to other SSRi's. I cannot be expected to have knowledge of all SSRi's, it's taken me 4 years to educate myself on Paroxetine.



Like, I said. If you or any other has a gripe with any other SSRi then create awareness, ask for meetings. If YOU have a problem with a particular SSRi then YOU must start banging the drum about it and not expect other people to do it for you

The Death of LRH: What was David Miscavige really thinking?

We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid

We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid....Benjamin   Franklin

Saturday 26 March 2011

Anonymous - Enemy of Scientology - Contacts Blog Author @ Global Impact of Social Activism

Anonymous - Enemy of Scientology - Contacts Blog Author.


"Let the harassers know -We don't forgive and we don't forget. Choose your enemies wisely!"


http://ssocialactivism.blogspot.com/2011/03/member-of-anonymous-enemy-of.html


Project Chanology began its campaign by organizing and delivering a series of denial-of-service attacks against Scientology websites and flooding Scientology centers with prank calls and black faxes.[2] The group was successful in taking down local and global Scientology websites intermittently from January 18, 2008 until at least January 25, 2008.[11][14][29] Anonymous had early success rendering major Scientology websites inaccessible and leaking documents allegedly stolen from Scientology computers. This resulted in a large amount of coverage on social bookmarking websites.[3][25]

The denial-of-service attacks on Scientology.org flooded the site with 220 megabits of traffic, a mid-range attack.[4][30] Speaking with SCMagazineUS.com, a security strategist for Top Layer Networks, Ken Pappas said that he thought that botnets were involved in the Anonymous operation: "There are circles out there where you could take ownership of the bot machines that are already owned and launch a simultaneous attack against [something] like the church from 50,000 PCs, all at the same time".[29]

In response to the attacks, on January 21, 2008 the Scientology.org site was moved to Prolexic Technologies, a company specializing in safeguarding web sites from denial-of-service attacks.[4][30] Attacks against the site increased, and CNET News reported that "a major assault" took place at 6 p.m. EST on January 24, 2008.[30] Anonymous escalated the attack on Scientology on January 25, 2008[21] and on January 25, 2008, the Church of Scientology's official website remained inaccessible.[29]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Chanology

*We don't forgive and we don't forget*


Posted by The Social Activists  -  http://ssocialactivism.blogspot.com/

FBI Keeps Eye On Scientology and The Seroxat Activists Participating in Harassment

The FBI Keeps Eye On Scientology and The Seroxat Activists Participating in Harassment

http://ssocialactivism.blogspot.com/2011/03/fbi-keeps-eye-on-scientology.html


I recently posted an article about The Seroxat Litigation and the connection between some of the core litigants and their dutiful minions, whom willfully participated in harassment of other advocates. The focus seems to be on the following.


"The Seroxat Activists were the same people who were targeting the children of their online enemies, posting their social networking pages, children's photographs, school addresses, home address, making unsolicited contact with their children, publicly advertising for others to join the bullying and harassment by publicly requesting information about them. Others joined the witch hunt. Their followers, with little hesitation, eagerly participated."

And


"Group and blog posts involving the children were removed after a concerned third party contacted the poster, pleading to allow the children their right to privacy and freedom from the online attacks."


Since this time, law enforcement agencies from The United Kingdom, The U.S. and Canada have become very interested in this blog. They have been actively searching individual names. Unlike some of the more well known SSRI and SNRI Activists, we've chosen not to post those names for privacy reasons. Could criminal charges still be a consideration?

I am astounded at the new flutter of police interest in these individuals and of Scientology. Brampton, Ontario CA police department searched this blog and another I actively participate on, for hours. Other law enforcement agencies around the world were quick to join and sometimes during the same hours. Not long after, the FBI joined the search. All seem to be actively searching for similar information. Search words consisting of "harassment, stalking, Scientology or CCHR connection", and often in combination with individual names. Some of the names I recognize but others I've never heard of. I don't really know what is going on but it seems something is in the works.


*Privacy on the net continues to be a gentleman's handshake. A concept that some have not yet grasped. Honour and professionalism in cyber space seems not to exist. I look forward to the day when online laws catch up with technology. Be careful whose lead you follow. They might be leading you down a road you don't want to go. It is your responsibility to know the laws of the land when you post in forums and blogs. Ignorance is not a legal defence.




CCHR New Zealand denied Charity Status

The Charities Commission is keen to provide helpful information for the charitable sector and for the wider public to help develop greater understanding of what is meant – in law – by charitable purpose, and why the Commission has declined to register some applications, or removed some charities from the Register.




The Charities Commission has decided to publish its written decisions to:

◦decline to register applicant organisations
◦remove charities from the Register.

In doing this, it aims to contribute to greater understanding of the law that governs its decisions, and in particular, the legal meaning of “charitable purpose”.


http://www.charities.govt.nz/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=NXZMKLK5mJM%3d&tabid=250

Friday 25 March 2011

REACHEMOL™ (popularitus maximol) proven to treat Deficient Popularity Disorder (DPD).



You, too, can have adoring fans without any apparent talent, skill or good looks.

learn more...

Bob Fiddaman playing the eternal victim and expecting unconditional sympathy from everyone

Bob Fiddaman playing the eternal victim and expecting unconditional sympathy from everyone


Messages 26 - 50 of 86





source - http://groups.google.com/group/alt.rock-n-roll.acdc/browse_thread/thread/54c1b222a78b9c44/4b6a495b29c62f04?hl=en&q=%27Fiddy+to+start+work+at+Rover%27&lnk=nl&







So now we're back to square one, Bob Fiddaman playing the eternal victim and expecting unconditional sympathy from everyone. Christ, if I was home twoyears, I'd damn well want to kill myself too.



I was home almost two MONTHS after my surgery this year, and I almost lost my mind. I was not a cool guy to be around. It got so bad I went back to work before I should have, and now my shoulder hurts like fuck all the time. But I decided I'd rather work in pain than sit on my ass recuperating, because I had no business

subjecting my wife and children to my constant mood swings and petulent

bouts of depression.



Bottom line: It is MY OPINION that you have allowed self-absorption and a vendetta with Rover to influence you in making decisions which have benefited no one but been detrimental to your family. Now go ahead and get all hyper-defensive if you must, but I'm not going to sit here and lie to

you about what I think.









> As you know I returned to work today only to find out that there have been

a

> number of jobs on offer for the past two years that I could have done.





Moral of the story: THEY WANT NO PART OF YOU. They didn't give you a sniff until the press was involved, so what makes you think they won't manufacture an excuse to fire your ass as soon as the reporters stop calling?



For God's sake, you're being SO naive about all this.



> To have a disability is bad - to be discriminated against because of it is

> scandalous!!!!





And to cry about it is pitiful.

FIDDAMAN - something tells me you were maybe a trouble maker at Rover before your illness and they used that as a loop hole to fuck you over

something tells me you were maybe a trouble maker at Rover before your illness and they used that as a loop hole to fuck you over


View profile

More options Jun 15 2001, 3:52 am



Newsgroups: alt.rock-n-roll.acdc

From: "Doof©"

Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2001 23:58:35 -0400

Local: Fri, Jun 15 2001 3:58 am

Subject: Re: Fiddy to start work at Rover



Reply to author Forward Print Individual message Show original Remove Report this message Find messages by this author







Bob I don't think your telling the whole story to us. If Rover were being

dicks to you and only made 3 offers that got turned down BEFORE the press

got hold of the story then that should tell you something. It should tell

you that as soon as you fuck up, your fired. IT is evedent to me that Rover

doesn't like you for various reasons. I could care less what they are Bob

thats not my business.





I understand your situation Bob but something tells me you were maybe a

trouble maker at Rover before your illness and they used that as a loop hole

to fuck you over.







There are two sides to every story Bob and we don't have a member of Rover in here stating what you did or may have done at work. I'm

not taking sides here and shit, I hope things work out in your favour. But

I'm sure your not 100% the victim in this story as Rover isn't 100% right

either.

Anyway good luck in your battle.



--

DOOF.....

FIDDAMAN the slob who faked his employment disability

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.rock-n-roll.acdc/browse_thread/thread/646bf3b0103facd3?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=fiddaman


I AM NOT out of a job - I am facing an employment tribunal against my
employers who cannot find work for me because of my (Ahem) disability.

Slob?

I probably have to agree with you on that one though it is hard to get
motivated when you are going through traumatic times such as I.

Thursday 24 March 2011

FIDDAMAN - welcome to the all about Bob blog !

Ex-Glaxo Lawyer Stevens Wins Dismissal of U.S. False-Statements Indictment

Ex-Glaxo Lawyer Stevens Wins Dismissal of U.S. False-Statements Indictment


By Tom Schoenberg - Mar 23, 2011 9:15 PM GMT

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-23/ex-glaxo-lawyer-stevens-wins-dismissal-of-u-s-false-statements-indictment.html



Business ExchangeBuzz up!DiggPrint Email .An ex-GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) lawyer won dismissal of a false-statements case as a judge ruled prosecutors misinformed the grand jury that indicted her.



The lawyer, Lauren Stevens, asked U.S. District Judge Roger Titus to dismiss the case at a hearing last week in Greenbelt, Maryland. He ruled in her favor today.



Stevens argued that prosecutors improperly told grand jurors that a defense based on her claim that she relied on advice of counsel “was not relevant” to whether to indict.



Stevens was charged with obstructing an investigation into whether Glaxo marketed the antidepressant Wellbutrin for unapproved uses. She based her defense on the claim that, in responding to a Food and Drug Administration inquiry, she took the advice of the law firm King & Spalding, her attorney Reid Weingarten said at the hearing.



The government said she withheld slide sets used by speakers at Wellbutrin promotion events and information on compensation for event attendees, according to Titus’s decision. The judge said her reliance on lawyers’ advice might negate the accusation that she intended to break the law.



Prosecutors said in court that if Titus threw out the indictment, they would seek another one. Stevens was scheduled to go to trial on April 5.



“The department will not have any comment,” said Patrick Jasperse, the Justice Department attorney prosecuting the case. Titus dismissed the indictment without prejudice, meaning prosecutors can seek a new indictment.



No Deliberate Misleading

“This is not a case in which the government attempted to affirmatively mislead the grand jury to obtain an indictment -- rather it is a case in which prosecutors simply misinstructed the grand jury on the law,” Titus said.



Stevens was charged with one count of obstructing an official proceeding, one count of falsifying and concealing documents and four counts of making false statements.



The first two charges carry maximum prison terms of 20 years, and the others carry terms of five years.



Prosecutors contend that Stevens, who lives in Durham, North Carolina, “engaged in a yearlong effort” to deceive the FDA about the company’s off-label marketing campaign for Wellbutrin.



Under U.S. law, drug companies aren’t allowed to promote a drug for a use not approved by the FDA.



In response to regulators’ request for information about Wellbutrin’s marketing in October 2002, Stevens allegedly sent a series of letters “that falsely denied the company had promoted the drug for off-label uses, even though she knew” the drugmaker had sponsored such marketing programs, prosecutors said in court filings.



The case is U.S. v. Stevens, 10-cr-694, U.S. District Court, District of Maryland (Greenbelt).



To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Schoenberg in Washington at tschoenberg@bloomberg.net.



To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.net.

.

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Serotonin-lacking male mice not picky about sex of their mates

Serotonin-lacking male mice not picky about sex of their mates


By John Timmer
Last updated about 6 hours ago

Courtship rituals within the animal kingdom can get rather elaborate. Even fruit flies use sex-specific pheromones and have a courtship maneuver that includes the male buzzing its wings alluringly. But the genetic control behind performing these mating rituals seems, at least in the flies, to largely be separate from the system that controls how they're targeted—mutations in a single gene can flip fly behavior so that male animals start pursuing other males. Now, researchers have identified a key regulator of mate choice in an organism much closer to us—the mouse.



Like flies, mice use pheromones to help identify viable mates, and male mice use a series of ultrasonic chirps as part of their courtship ritual, which ends in them attempting to mount the object of their attention. Male mice that don't have a working pheromone system, however, are more likely to direct their attention to other males, suggesting that, as in flies, the targeting of these behaviors operated separately from performing them.



In the new work, the authors followed up on some indications that the serotonin signaling system might be involved in mate choice. They took advantage of a targeted mutation that eliminates the production of most serotonin-producing neurons in the brain of mice, and tested whether the mice responded normally to sexual cues. These included some very atypical lab assays, like determining how much time the mice spent sniffing around the bedding of males and females, and some straightforward ones, like figuring out how often a male mouse would try to mate with other males instead of responding aggressively to them. (Sample experiment: "a slide with one half smeared with female genitals and the other half with male genitals was presented to a test male.")



The results were pretty clear. If given access to a female or her scent, males that lacked serotonin signaling would respond just as their peers did. But, if given equal access to males and females, they seemed to have no preference whatsoever. Instead of responding aggressively to a challenge from another male, the mutant mice "showed significantly more mounting of male intruders."



This wasn't a failure of the pheromone system, though. The same mice could be trained to avoid electric shocks based on the presence of male and female scents (in this case, the ones present in mouse urine).



The mutation involved here blocks the development of serotonin-producing neurons, so it's possible that it has some rather general effects on the mouse's nervous system. To make sure the effects were specific to serotonin, a second set of mice were bred—these lack a gene essential for producing a chemical precursor to serotonin. These mice weren't especially picky about the mating partners, again as measured by factors like "mounting latency" and "mounting frequency."



The neat thing about these mice is that the serotonin deficiency can be easily fixed, as the chemical precursor can be supplied by injecting it into the abdomen. It only took about a half hour after this injection for a normal mating bias to be restored.



Although serotonin signaling had been implicated in mating behavior by previous work, this new study shows that it's not so much the behavior that's affected, but how it's directed. As the authors note, "an unavoidable question raised by our findings is whether 5-HT has a role in sexual preference in other animals," namely humans. There have been a couple of studies of serotonin signaling and sexuality in people, but none that directly touch on this question. You can bet, however, that the authors are already collaborating with people who can do this sort of work in humans.



Nature, 2011. DOI: 10.1038/nature09822 (About DOIs).

Jim Marrs - CCHR Scientology conspiricy theorist - awards Austin Texas

 Author Jim Marrs at CCHR Austin




http://www.ritaquinnphotography.com/2010/01/author-jim-marrs-at-cchr-austin-event-photographer/

@collinslateshow Spent 4 days with Jim Marrs out in LA in Feb. Top man. Say hi to him from Bob Fiddaman


about 10 hours ago via web

http://twitter.com/Fiddaman?from_source=onebox

Tuesday 22 March 2011

GSK boss Andrew Witty says fantasist FIDDAMAN will not drive us out of the UK

GlaxoSmithKline boss: firms shouldn't quit Britain for tax reasonsGSK chief executive Andrew Witty warns that drive for profits is undermining public trust in big companies



http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/20/firms-quit-britain-tax-reasons


Share61 Comments (34) Andrew Clark, business editor The Observer, Sunday 20 March 2011 Article history

Andrew Witty, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, rejects the idea of being a company that ‘floats around in Bermuda’. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian



The head of Britain's biggest drugs manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, has delivered a stinging attack on companies that shift their headquarters abroad in search of lower taxes, declaring that it is "completely wrong" for businesses to view themselves as "mid-Atlantic floating entities" with no connection to society.



Speaking before the budget, in which George Osborne will be under pressure to create a growth agenda for business, GSK's chief executive, Andrew Witty, said that banks, hedge funds and industrial companies that look only for lower tax regimes are contributing to a damaging destruction of trust between the public and the corporate world.



"One of the reasons why we've seen an erosion of trust broadly in big companies is they've allowed themselves to be seen as being detached from society and they will float in and out of societies according to what the tax regime is," said Witty. "I think that's completely wrong."



GSK, based in Brentford, west London, employs 16,000 people in Britain out of a global workforce of 98,000. The company produces treatments for asthma, cancer and HIV, as well as brands including Horlicks, Aquafresh, Lucozade and Ribena.



In an interview with the Observer, Witty said: "While the chief executive of the company could move, maybe the top 20 directors could move, what about the 16,000 people who work for us? It's completely wrong, I think, to play fast and loose with your connections with society in that way."



HSBC, Diageo, Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser have all mooted the possibility of leaving Britain in search of lower rates of tax.



Witty scorned the possibility of being a company that "floats around in Bermuda", saying that businesses should stick with their home country through bad times as well as good. "We could go, in theory, anywhere for a low tax rate. But first of all, how do you know that country isn't going to change its tax rate in 10 minutes?



"Secondly, isn't it better to be in a country and say: 'Let's try to work through the difficult times and get to the good times?'"



GSK paid £1.3bn of tax on profits of £4.5bn last year, although virtually all of this was levied on its operations overseas. The previous year, it paid £417m in corporation tax

BrumAnon - no objection to protests against psychiatry - try mindfreedom - don't sell yourself to CCHR




other videos here - http://bobfiddaman.blogspot.com/2011/03/cchr-protest-videos-fiddaman-wont-show.html

CCHR PROTEST - the videos FIDDAMAN won't show
on his CULT Scientology blog

BrumAnon - expose the cult in Birmingham

Sunday 20 March 2011

Prozac New Zealand Toran Henry - Accident Compensation Corporation - no-fault basis

The Accident Compensation Corporation (Māori: Te Kaporeihana Āwhina Hunga Whara) is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for administering the Accident Compensation Act 2001.[1] The Act provides support to citizens, residents, and temporary visitors who have suffered personal injuries.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accident_Compensation_Corporation
 
ACC is the sole and compulsory provider of accident insurance for all work and non-work injuries. The ACC Scheme is administered on a no-fault basis, so that anyone, regardless of the way in which they incurred an injury, is eligible for coverage under the Scheme. Due to the Scheme's no-fault basis, people who have suffered personal injury do not have the right to sue an at-fault party, except for exemplary damages

Saturday 19 March 2011

How To Rescue Your Child From Scientology

Benefit cheat parents push RITALIN on 4 year old children

Behaviour drugs given to four-year-olds prompt calls for inquiry




ADHD medication given in breach of NHS guidelines as professor says parents putting pressure on GPs


http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/18/behaviour-drugs-four-year-olds?CMP=twt_gu



Child taking a pill Children as young as four have been prescribed Ritalin-style drugs in breach of NHS guidelines. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod



Children as young as four are being given Ritalin-style medication for behavioural problems in breach of NHS guidelines, the Guardian has discovered, prompting the leading psychological society to call for a national review.



Family-based therapy is recommended for treating children with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), with prescription drugs used only for children over six years old and as a last resort.



The figures, based on data from 479 GPs, show prescription rates were highest for children aged six to 12, doubling to just over eight per 1,000 in the five years up to 2008. Children aged 13 to 17 had the second highest rate at six per 1,000, while those aged 25 and over had less than one per 1,000.



Concern is greatest over children under six who should not be receiving drugs at all, says the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).



There are no reliable figures for how many children under six have been given Ritalin. But Professor Tim Kendall, joint director of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, who chaired the Nice guideline committee, confirmed that he had heard reliable reports of children in nursery and pre-school being prescribed medication unnecessarily, and that it was often parents who were putting pressure on GPs.



He said: "There are two reasons why parents go shopping for a diagnosis. The first is to improve their child's performance at school, and the second is to get access to benefits. There are always GPs that will do it, but it's wrong to give a child a diagnosis without also consulting schools and teachers."



In one case seen by the Guardian, a five-year-old from the West Midlands was found to be receiving a double dose of methylphenidate, commonly known by the brand name Ritalin, the drug used to treat ADHD, despite his school insisting that he is "among the best-behaved children in his class".



In notes seen by the leading educational psychologist in the case, the boy's headteacher reports that the school does not believe he has ADHD, but that the medication is being prescribed "to help mum at home".



In another case in the West Midlands a five-year-old was put on the drugs for three years at the request of his parents without any consultation with teachers or psychologists.



Kendall said prescriptions could continue to rise due to impending health cuts. "It's a false economy … all the evidence says that parent training courses combined with partnership working with schools is what works, but these programmes are being cut by local councils."



Speaking on behalf of the British Psychological Society, Peter Kinderman, chair of the division of clinical psychology, said he supported calls for a review, saying he would be concerned if children were being prescribed medication as a quick fix.



He added that mental health services were already "grossly under-resourced" and that cuts were likely to put services to children at risk.



Kinderman expressed particular worries about the cases uncovered by the Guardian. "Many psychologists are very concerned at the use of psychiatric and medical diagnoses in cases such as mild social anxiety or shyness, not only because of doubts about the validity of many of the diagnostic approaches, but because of the possible adverse effects."



But Dinah Jayson, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at Trafford general hospital and a spokesperson for the Royal College of Psychiatrists, insisted that in some cases it could be "cruel" not to treat children of any age if all other options had been exhausted.



She said: "With every child there is a risk of doing something but there is also a risk of doing nothing. We know early [medical] intervention can help children who would otherwise be losing out."



Professor Ian Wong, director at the Centre for Paediatric and Pharmacy Research, who led the prescriptions research, pointed out that prescription rates were still below the expected number of diagnoses for hyper-kinetic disorders.



"GPs and psychiatrists are much more aware of mental illness, and the drugs are so effective and have such a big effect that it's tipped the balance. They [drugs] can make a real difference not just to the child but to households and classrooms where children may be causing real disruption."



According to Nice guidelines, between 1% and 9% of young people in the UK now have some form of ADHD, depending on the criteria used. NHS figures show a rise in all methylphenidate prescriptions across all age groups by almost 60% in five years, rising from 389,200 in 2005 to 610,200 in 2009.



Side-effects include sleeplessness, appetite loss and reduced growth rates. Wong, who says the long-term effects are inconclusive, recently received a €3m (£2.6m) grant from the European commission to investigate side-effects further.



Professor Paul Cooper, a psychologist and professor of education based at Leicester University, who has completed qualitative research with adolescents on psychostimulant medication, expressed concerns about the possible effects of the drugs on personality development.



"Some young people say that it affects their personality but accept it because it gets mum and dad off their case or stops them getting into trouble," he said. "They don't like it, but take it for the benefit of other people."



Medical experts in the West Midlands say over-prescription continues to be a problem. "This whole area needs public scrutiny – there has to be some kind of review," said the educational psychologist who oversaw the cases but did not want to be named. "Handing out strong psychotropic drugs to children should be a last resort, but they're being handed out like sweets."