Dr. Tom Cruise
Having never even played a doctor on TV, Tom Cruise is out spouting off on psychiatric drugs. First he went after Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressant medication after suffering from post-partum depression. Then last Friday, he had a testy interview on the Today show when host Matt Lauer suggested that Ritalin, a drug to treat attention deficit disorder, is helpful to some people. Cruise angrily accused Lauer of not knowing what he is talking about. Cruise will probably face a firestorm of criticism for that. But here's the thing: he's not totally off his rocker, at least as far as the ADD drugs go. The simple fact is that no one really understands what ADD and ADHD are, and no one really understands how the medications work.
Don't believe me? An ADHD support and information site states, "The exact origin of ADHD is unknown." A chemical imbalance in the brain is suspected to be one of multiple possible causes. If the doctors don't understand the disorder, how is it to be treated? Strattera is the latest medication developed to treat ADHD. According to Dr. Vincent Iannelli,
It is thought to be 'a potent inhibitor of the presynaptic norepinephrine transporter,' which causes more norepinehrine to be available to increase attention and control hyperactivity and impulsivity. Like the stimulants [e.g. Ritalin], it is not yet known exactly how Strattera works though.(emphasis mine) So, the doctors are prescribing medication whose operations they do not understand to treat a disorder they do not understand in a way they do not understand. All they know is that the behavior of many kids with ADHD changes when they take the drug.
While one cannot deny that drugs such as Strattera and Ritalin have induced positive behavioral changes in some children, is it really so crazy to raise questions about prescribing a drug when the doctors don't really even know what the drug does, let alone how it treats the disorder being treated? Cruise will get mocked and slammed for this, but he is right to raise questions.
(Please note that depression is totally distinct from ADHD and these comments are specific to ADHD. Cruise is off his rocker when he talks depression, an illness well understood by doctors.)
posted by Doc at 8:47 AM
1 Comments:
You may not be aware of the fact that most every antidepressant on the market has only performed slightly better than placebo. Here is the interesting part. Over the past decade AD's have been getting better results in clinical trials. Placebos have shown better results at about the same rate. So as AD's have become increasingly more accepted and more people believe that they work, the placebos have performed better also. I agree that intervention with severe depression is necessary for the sake of the patient. However, we do not know what the long term result will be from prescribing these drugs to every person who doesn't like there job, or is bummed about being fat and lazy. These drugs often times turn people from being a little messed up into crazy people that shoot up schools or drown there 5 kids. Just look at the news today. How many times do you wonder what the heck is wrong with these people. Have there minds been altered?
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