Alaska Day 5, Catholic Nuns discover Massage is Better than Antipsychotic Drugs and New Book: 'Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Medicated a Nation'

[Guest guest]

Anchorage Daily News

State claims Lilly tried to blur Zyprexa-diabetes link

By LISA DEMER

Back in 2002, Eli Lilly and Co. came up with a $10 million effort to

ramp up sales of its schizophrenia medicine, Zyprexa. They called it

Project " BAD. "

Among other things, the company wanted to reduce the " negative aspect "

of links between Zyprexa and diabetes in patients, jurors were told

Monday in Anchorage Superior Court.

No one explained the name in court. " A project to overcome the bad, "

Tommy Fibich, a lawyer representing the state, said later.

Lilly says " BAD " is an acronym. It stands for bipolar disorder,

aripiprazole - the generic name of a new drug approved to compete with

Zyprexa in 2002 - and diabetes, a Lilly spokeswoman said after court

ended for the day.

The drug maker is defending itself against a lawsuit brought by the

state of Alaska that claims it failed to warn of health problems linked

to Zyprexa.

The trial is in its second week. If the state wins, there will be a new

trial for damages. The state is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars

to recover costs to Medicaid for treating these health problems,

including diabetes, high blood sugar and significant weight gain. It

contends that Lilly hid problems to protect sales of Zyprexa, which

became the company's best-selling drug.

Also Monday, a juror was excused from the trial because of a dental

emergency. That leaves 12 jurors and one alternate for a case expected

to last at least two more weeks.

More here: http://tmap.wordpress.com/

Letters to the editor: letters@...

+++

Wall Street Journal

Catholic Nuns Discover Massage is Better than Antipsychotics

By LUCETTE LAGNADO

March 10, 2008

BRONX, N.Y. -- Here at the Providence Rest nursing home, which caters

mostly to retired nuns and devout Roman Catholics, Harold Packman has

developed an important expertise: Giving massages to women who may have

spent a lifetime shying away from this kind of physical contact.

....Providence Rest hired Mr. Packman, a licensed massage therapist, as

part of an unusual experiment to cut its use of antipsychotic drugs.

These controversial drugs -- which are often used as " chemical

restraints " to sedate agitated patients -- have set off a national

debate over whether nursing homes are misusing them. Newer versions,

known as " atypical " antipsychotics, can increase the risk of death in

elderly people with Alzheimer's disease, the Food and Drug

Administration has warned.

....Startling Results

The results are startling. Nationwide, some 30% of nursing-home patients

are put on antipsychotics, according to federal data, but Providence

Rest has cut its own use down to 2% or 3%. That's the lowest rate of any

nursing home in New York, and among the lowest in the country, according

to the New York Association of Homes & Services for the Aging.

Video here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120510783828623179.html?mod=psp_editors_

picks

More here: http://tmap.wordpress.com/

+++

The Hartford Courant

Book Review: 'Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Medicated a Nation' by

Barber

By Steve Weinberg

March 9, 2008

Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Medicated a Nation. Barber.

Pantheon. $26. 180 pp.

Listening to patients is more effective than listening to Prozac when

treatment of the mentally ill is at stake. Barber, a Yale

University School of Medicine lecturer, in a passionate and often angry

book, speaks with authority. After all, he has worked closely with

mentally ill patients for three decades.

More here:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/booksmags/sfl-bkhartbarbarsbmar09,0

,4729414.story

+++

25,484 Signatures Against TeenScreen. Video:

Petition:

English http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html

Spanish http://www.psychsearch.net/votos.html

Italian http://www.psychsearch.net/italiani.html

French http://www.enfantshyperactifs.com/petition-a-signer/

Russian : Know a translator?

[Guest guest]

Anchorage Daily News

State claims Lilly tried to blur Zyprexa-diabetes link

By LISA DEMER

Back in 2002, Eli Lilly and Co. came up with a $10 million effort to

ramp up sales of its schizophrenia medicine, Zyprexa. They called it

Project " BAD. "

Among other things, the company wanted to reduce the " negative aspect "

of links between Zyprexa and diabetes in patients, jurors were told

Monday in Anchorage Superior Court.

No one explained the name in court. " A project to overcome the bad, "

Tommy Fibich, a lawyer representing the state, said later.

Lilly says " BAD " is an acronym. It stands for bipolar disorder,

aripiprazole - the generic name of a new drug approved to compete with

Zyprexa in 2002 - and diabetes, a Lilly spokeswoman said after court

ended for the day.

The drug maker is defending itself against a lawsuit brought by the

state of Alaska that claims it failed to warn of health problems linked

to Zyprexa.

The trial is in its second week. If the state wins, there will be a new

trial for damages. The state is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars

to recover costs to Medicaid for treating these health problems,

including diabetes, high blood sugar and significant weight gain. It

contends that Lilly hid problems to protect sales of Zyprexa, which

became the company's best-selling drug.

Also Monday, a juror was excused from the trial because of a dental

emergency. That leaves 12 jurors and one alternate for a case expected

to last at least two more weeks.

More here: http://tmap.wordpress.com/

Letters to the editor: letters@...

+++

Wall Street Journal

Catholic Nuns Discover Massage is Better than Antipsychotics

By LUCETTE LAGNADO

March 10, 2008

BRONX, N.Y. -- Here at the Providence Rest nursing home, which caters

mostly to retired nuns and devout Roman Catholics, Harold Packman has

developed an important expertise: Giving massages to women who may have

spent a lifetime shying away from this kind of physical contact.

....Providence Rest hired Mr. Packman, a licensed massage therapist, as

part of an unusual experiment to cut its use of antipsychotic drugs.

These controversial drugs -- which are often used as " chemical

restraints " to sedate agitated patients -- have set off a national

debate over whether nursing homes are misusing them. Newer versions,

known as " atypical " antipsychotics, can increase the risk of death in

elderly people with Alzheimer's disease, the Food and Drug

Administration has warned.

....Startling Results

The results are startling. Nationwide, some 30% of nursing-home patients

are put on antipsychotics, according to federal data, but Providence

Rest has cut its own use down to 2% or 3%. That's the lowest rate of any

nursing home in New York, and among the lowest in the country, according

to the New York Association of Homes & Services for the Aging.

Video here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120510783828623179.html?mod=psp_editors_

picks

More here: http://tmap.wordpress.com/

+++

The Hartford Courant

Book Review: 'Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Medicated a Nation' by

Barber

By Steve Weinberg

March 9, 2008

Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Medicated a Nation. Barber.

Pantheon. $26. 180 pp.

Listening to patients is more effective than listening to Prozac when

treatment of the mentally ill is at stake. Barber, a Yale

University School of Medicine lecturer, in a passionate and often angry

book, speaks with authority. After all, he has worked closely with

mentally ill patients for three decades.

More here:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/booksmags/sfl-bkhartbarbarsbmar09,0

,4729414.story

+++

25,484 Signatures Against TeenScreen. Video:

Petition:

English http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html

Spanish http://www.psychsearch.net/votos.html

Italian http://www.psychsearch.net/italiani.html

French http://www.enfantshyperactifs.com/petition-a-signer/

Russian : Know a translator?

[Guest guest]

Anchorage Daily News

State claims Lilly tried to blur Zyprexa-diabetes link

By LISA DEMER

Back in 2002, Eli Lilly and Co. came up with a $10 million effort to

ramp up sales of its schizophrenia medicine, Zyprexa. They called it

Project " BAD. "

Among other things, the company wanted to reduce the " negative aspect "

of links between Zyprexa and diabetes in patients, jurors were told

Monday in Anchorage Superior Court.

No one explained the name in court. " A project to overcome the bad, "

Tommy Fibich, a lawyer representing the state, said later.

Lilly says " BAD " is an acronym. It stands for bipolar disorder,

aripiprazole - the generic name of a new drug approved to compete with

Zyprexa in 2002 - and diabetes, a Lilly spokeswoman said after court

ended for the day.

The drug maker is defending itself against a lawsuit brought by the

state of Alaska that claims it failed to warn of health problems linked

to Zyprexa.

The trial is in its second week. If the state wins, there will be a new

trial for damages. The state is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars

to recover costs to Medicaid for treating these health problems,

including diabetes, high blood sugar and significant weight gain. It

contends that Lilly hid problems to protect sales of Zyprexa, which

became the company's best-selling drug.

Also Monday, a juror was excused from the trial because of a dental

emergency. That leaves 12 jurors and one alternate for a case expected

to last at least two more weeks.

More here: http://tmap.wordpress.com/

Letters to the editor: letters@...

+++

Wall Street Journal

Catholic Nuns Discover Massage is Better than Antipsychotics

By LUCETTE LAGNADO

March 10, 2008

BRONX, N.Y. -- Here at the Providence Rest nursing home, which caters

mostly to retired nuns and devout Roman Catholics, Harold Packman has

developed an important expertise: Giving massages to women who may have

spent a lifetime shying away from this kind of physical contact.

....Providence Rest hired Mr. Packman, a licensed massage therapist, as

part of an unusual experiment to cut its use of antipsychotic drugs.

These controversial drugs -- which are often used as " chemical

restraints " to sedate agitated patients -- have set off a national

debate over whether nursing homes are misusing them. Newer versions,

known as " atypical " antipsychotics, can increase the risk of death in

elderly people with Alzheimer's disease, the Food and Drug

Administration has warned.

....Startling Results

The results are startling. Nationwide, some 30% of nursing-home patients

are put on antipsychotics, according to federal data, but Providence

Rest has cut its own use down to 2% or 3%. That's the lowest rate of any

nursing home in New York, and among the lowest in the country, according

to the New York Association of Homes & Services for the Aging.

Video here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120510783828623179.html?mod=psp_editors_

picks

More here: http://tmap.wordpress.com/

+++

The Hartford Courant

Book Review: 'Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Medicated a Nation' by

Barber

By Steve Weinberg

March 9, 2008

Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Medicated a Nation. Barber.

Pantheon. $26. 180 pp.

Listening to patients is more effective than listening to Prozac when

treatment of the mentally ill is at stake. Barber, a Yale

University School of Medicine lecturer, in a passionate and often angry

book, speaks with authority. After all, he has worked closely with

mentally ill patients for three decades.

More here:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/booksmags/sfl-bkhartbarbarsbmar09,0

,4729414.story

+++

25,484 Signatures Against TeenScreen. Video:

Petition:

English http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html

Spanish http://www.psychsearch.net/votos.html

Italian http://www.psychsearch.net/italiani.html

French http://www.enfantshyperactifs.com/petition-a-signer/

Russian : Know a translator?

[Guest guest]

Anchorage Daily News

State claims Lilly tried to blur Zyprexa-diabetes link

By LISA DEMER

Back in 2002, Eli Lilly and Co. came up with a $10 million effort to

ramp up sales of its schizophrenia medicine, Zyprexa. They called it

Project " BAD. "

Among other things, the company wanted to reduce the " negative aspect "

of links between Zyprexa and diabetes in patients, jurors were told

Monday in Anchorage Superior Court.

No one explained the name in court. " A project to overcome the bad, "

Tommy Fibich, a lawyer representing the state, said later.

Lilly says " BAD " is an acronym. It stands for bipolar disorder,

aripiprazole - the generic name of a new drug approved to compete with

Zyprexa in 2002 - and diabetes, a Lilly spokeswoman said after court

ended for the day.

The drug maker is defending itself against a lawsuit brought by the

state of Alaska that claims it failed to warn of health problems linked

to Zyprexa.

The trial is in its second week. If the state wins, there will be a new

trial for damages. The state is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars

to recover costs to Medicaid for treating these health problems,

including diabetes, high blood sugar and significant weight gain. It

contends that Lilly hid problems to protect sales of Zyprexa, which

became the company's best-selling drug.

Also Monday, a juror was excused from the trial because of a dental

emergency. That leaves 12 jurors and one alternate for a case expected

to last at least two more weeks.

More here: http://tmap.wordpress.com/

Letters to the editor: letters@...

+++

Wall Street Journal

Catholic Nuns Discover Massage is Better than Antipsychotics

By LUCETTE LAGNADO

March 10, 2008

BRONX, N.Y. -- Here at the Providence Rest nursing home, which caters

mostly to retired nuns and devout Roman Catholics, Harold Packman has

developed an important expertise: Giving massages to women who may have

spent a lifetime shying away from this kind of physical contact.

....Providence Rest hired Mr. Packman, a licensed massage therapist, as

part of an unusual experiment to cut its use of antipsychotic drugs.

These controversial drugs -- which are often used as " chemical

restraints " to sedate agitated patients -- have set off a national

debate over whether nursing homes are misusing them. Newer versions,

known as " atypical " antipsychotics, can increase the risk of death in

elderly people with Alzheimer's disease, the Food and Drug

Administration has warned.

....Startling Results

The results are startling. Nationwide, some 30% of nursing-home patients

are put on antipsychotics, according to federal data, but Providence

Rest has cut its own use down to 2% or 3%. That's the lowest rate of any

nursing home in New York, and among the lowest in the country, according

to the New York Association of Homes & Services for the Aging.

Video here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120510783828623179.html?mod=psp_editors_

picks

More here: http://tmap.wordpress.com/

+++

The Hartford Courant

Book Review: 'Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Medicated a Nation' by

Barber

By Steve Weinberg

March 9, 2008

Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Medicated a Nation. Barber.

Pantheon. $26. 180 pp.

Listening to patients is more effective than listening to Prozac when

treatment of the mentally ill is at stake. Barber, a Yale

University School of Medicine lecturer, in a passionate and often angry

book, speaks with authority. After all, he has worked closely with

mentally ill patients for three decades.

More here:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/booksmags/sfl-bkhartbarbarsbmar09,0

,4729414.story

+++

25,484 Signatures Against TeenScreen. Video:

Petition:

English http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html

Spanish http://www.psychsearch.net/votos.html

Italian http://www.psychsearch.net/italiani.html

French http://www.enfantshyperactifs.com/petition-a-signer/

Russian : Know a translator?