When Anecdotal Evidence is Sufficient Proof

Printed by Publish Any Damn Thing or Perish Press. Research funded by the Keep Unimaginative Academics Employed Foundation.

As I did on my posts of November 30, 2011,  October 2, 2012, September 17, 2013, June 3, 2014, and February 24, 2015, it’s time once again to look over the highlights of the latest issue of one of my two favorite psychiatry journals, Duh! and No Sh*t, Sherlock. We'll take a look at the unsurprising findings published in the latest issue of Duh! My comments in bronze.

As I pointed out in those earlier posts, research dollars are very limited and therefore precious. Why waste good money trying to study new, cutting edge or controversial ideas that might turn out to be wrong, when we can study things that that are already known to be true but have yet to be "proven"? Such an approach increases the success rate of studies almost astronomically. And studies with positive results are far more likely to be published than those that come up negative.

May 7, 2105. Study: Bisexual And Gay Children More Likely To Be Bullied As They Grow Up

The AP (5/7, Stobbe) reports that a research letter published May 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that bisexual and gay children “are more likely to be bullied as they’re growing up – even at an early age.” Researchers found that “many of the nearly 4,300 students surveyed said they were bullied, especially at younger ages,” but 13 percent of the 630 bisexual and gay youngsters reported being bullied “on a weekly basis,” compared to just eight percent of the other children.

        HealthDay (5/7, Haelle) reports that “consequences of bullying can include physical injury, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress and negative school performance...said” the study’s lead author. 

This is just more propaganda from people advancing the gay agenda.

6/15/15. Small Study: Lisdexamfetamine May Improve Memory, Concentration Problems Associated With Menopause.

HealthDay (6/13, Haelle) reported that the stimulant medication lisdexamfetamine, which is “marketed for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, might improve memory and concentration problems associated with menopause,” according to a study of 32 menopausal women published online June 11 in Psychopharmacology. The study, which received support from the NIH and Shire, the maker of lisdexamfetamine, revealed that “brain activities such as memory, reasoning, multitasking, planning and problem-solving,” improved while women were taking the medicine.

Hate to break this to the Pharma shills, but stimulants will do that for ANYBODY.

8/4/15. Pediatric brain injuries may be associated with attention issues

The Washington Post (8/4, Cha) “To Your Health” blog reports that youngsters who suffer a brain injury, even one considered minor, may be “more likely to experience attention issues,” according to a study published online Aug. 3 in Pediatrics. For the study, investigators included “113 children, ages six to 13, who suffered from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) ranging from a concussion that gave them a headache or caused them to vomit, to losing consciousness for more than 30 minutes, and compared them with a group of 53 children who experienced a trauma that was not head-related.” HealthDay (8/4, Doheny) reports that the study found that “attention lapses” suffered by the kids with TBIs “led to lower behavior and intelligence ratings by their parents and teachers.” What’s more, the “loss of focus was apparent even when scans showed no obvious brain damage, the researchers said.”

Because injuries to the brain always improve its performance.

8/18/15. Family Problems Early In Life May Raise Boys’ Risk Of Depression, Anxiety.

HealthDay (8/18, Preidt) reports, “Family problems early in life might raise boys’ risk of depression and anxiety, which is also tied to altered brain structure in their late teens and” into early adulthood, according to a study published online Aug. 17 in JAMA Pediatrics. The study, which “included nearly 500 males, ages 18 to 21,” found that “those boys who faced family problems during” the years from birth to age six “were more likely to have depression and anxiety at ages seven, 10 and 13.” Such boys “were more likely to have lower volume of...’gray matter’ in the brain by the time they reached ages 18 to 21.”

What was Freud even THINKING?

8/31/15. Risky Behaviors May Be Signs Of High Suicide Risk In People With Depression.

 

HealthDay (8/30, Preidt) reported, “Risky behaviors such as reckless driving or sudden promiscuity, or nervous behaviors such as agitation, hand-wringing or pacing, can be signs that suicide risk may be high in depressed people,” research presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s Congress suggests. The study, which involved some 2,800 people with depression, also revealed that “other warning signs may include doing things on impulse with little thought about the consequences.” People with depression “with any of these symptoms are at least 50 percent more likely to attempt suicide, the new study found.” 

This is just silly. We all know that people who are keen to die are risk averse.

10/7/15. Small Study: Older Adults Appear To Recover More Slowly From Concussion Than Younger Patients.

HealthDay (10/7, Preidt) reports that “older adults recover more slowly from concussion than younger patients,” according to a study published online Oct. 6 in the journal Radiology. Included in the study were “13 older adults, aged 51 to 68, and 13 young adults, aged 21 to 30.” All participants were evaluated at the four-week and 10-week mark following their concussions. While “a significant decline in concussion symptoms – such as problems with working memory – was seen among young patients between the first and second assessment,” researchers found “no such decrease in symptoms...in older patients.”

Aw come on. The body always improves with advanced age.

10/14/15.  Psychological Distress May Be Highly Prevalent In Caregivers Of Patients With Advanced Cancer.

Medscape (10/14, O'Rourke) reports that “psychological distress is highly prevalent in caregivers of patients with advanced cancer and is associated with both caregiver and patient factors, researchers said...at the Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium (PCOS) 2015.” Lead study author Ryan David Nipp, MD, said, “Caregiver characteristics that were significantly associated with caregiver depression were being female and having anxiety.” Dr. Nipp added, “Patient factors that were associated with caregiver depression included patients reporting depression, that the goal of their care was to cure their cancer, and using emotional support coping.”

The impending death of loved ones is always such a high!

10/21/15. Parental Involvement May Optimize Therapy For Kids With Disruptive Behavior Disorders.

Reuters (10/21, Rapaport) reports that having parents participate in therapy for youngsters with disruptive behavior disorders may help the children respond optimally to that treatment, according to a meta-analysis of 66 studies published online Oct. 19 in the journal Pediatrics.

Nonsense. We all know that being rude is genetic.

10/28/15. Cancer diagnosis may lead to loss of income, study indicates

The Washington Post (10/28, Blakemore) “To Your Health” blog reports that research indicates that cancer “can take a heavy toll on patients’ pocketbooks, even long after they recover.” The Los Angeles Times (10/28, Kaplan) reports in “Science Now” that researchers found that “in the second year after being diagnosed with cancer, survivors were earning up to 40% less than they had been before they became sick, on average.” The data indicated that “even in the fifth year after diagnosis, annual earnings still had not recovered to their precancer levels.”The findings were published in Cancer.

Because, thanks to the demise of unions, fewer and fewer folks get paid sick days from their job any more. (I'm not being funny).

11/10/15.  Study Supports Raising SSRI Doses in Patients Who Do Not Respond to Low-Dose Treatment

Using a higher dose of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for major depressive disorder appears to be associated with an increased likelihood of response, according to a meta-analysis published today in AJP in Advance. This benefit, which is somewhat offset by decreased tolerability of SSRIs at high doses, appears to plateau at about 50 mg of fluoxetine (250 mg imipramine-equivalent dose). A team of researchers in the United States and London searched PubMed for randomized, placebo-controlled trials that examined the efficacy of SSRIs for treating adults with major depressive disorder and assessed improvement in depression severity at multiple time points.
       

Er- the first lesson in psychopharmacology 101, I believe.

11/20/15.  Opioid Addiction In Women May Often Start With Physician-Prescribed Medications.

Medscape (11/20, Brooks) reports that new research suggests that the upsurge in the number of women with opioid addiction may be attributed to prescription medicines. Researchers evaluated “sex differences in substance use, health, and social functioning among 266 men and 226 women receiving methadone treatment for opioid use disorder in Ontario.” The researchers found that over half of women (52%) and a third of men (38%) “reported physician-prescribed opioids as their first contact with the” medications. The findings were published online Nov. 9 in the journal of Biology of Sex Differences.

This can't be right. Addiction can only be caused by that evil weed gateway drug, marijuana. Or was that beer?