Editorial note: This is the first in a Magna Carta series, and the nineteenth in the Persecution series. As the days lengthen and things warm up in England, historically it has been the time for the people to get restive. Eight Hundred years ago, the people meant a group of us who counted – we called ourselves the Barons. There were other human beings – our serfs - who … [Read more...] about A Magna Carta for Healthcare
42 or Thereabouts
See previous posts - Switch on Anti-Depression Today and So Long and Thanks for all the Serotonin. In response to the recent BMJ editorial on Serotonin and Depression, there were seventeen letters of which three were published, along with my response. These are copied below along with the best letter - by Barney Carroll - which wasn't published. Make your own mind up as to … [Read more...] about 42 or Thereabouts
Compulsory Vaccination and the Media – The Australian Experience
Editorial Note: This is another post on the vaccination and censorship theme. Elizabeth Hart's comments, over the past few weeks in response to some of the posts here, on efforts to stifle debate have been balanced and eloquent. Given the growing number of new journalism outlets, such as The Conversation, that portray themselves as tackling cutting edge issues fearlessly but in … [Read more...] about Compulsory Vaccination and the Media – The Australian Experience
The Couric Incident: HPV Vaccine & Mass Bullying
Editorial Note: This post is by John Stone at my invitation. I am broadly speaking pro-Vaccination and reluctant to stray into the Vaccination Wars but the issues about free debate in recent posts seem most acute in this domain. Anyone who even thinks about questioning is vilified. There are important public policy issues involved in MMR but less so with the HPV vaccine and … [Read more...] about The Couric Incident: HPV Vaccine & Mass Bullying
So Long and Thanks for all the Serotonin
The BMJ article on Serotonin and Depression has stirred some interest. There are some highly technical comments on the BMJ site but of course the key point behind the piece is the rather obvious fact that twenty-five years ago many people were saying it was all a myth. The extraordinary Michael Leunig nailed it twenty years ago in the sketch above. (Leunig is wonderful across … [Read more...] about So Long and Thanks for all the Serotonin
Switch on Anti-Depression Today
Science Media Centre roundup Expert reaction to editorial on serotonin and depression as published in The BMJ (British Medical Journal)* Dr Clare Stanford, Reader in Experimental Psychopharmacology, UCL, said: “Prof David Healy's article treads a path that is well-worn but out of date. He argues that selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants are used … [Read more...] about Switch on Anti-Depression Today
A Broken Utopia? The Internet and Health Activism
Editorial Note: This post by James Bennett, a research coordinator on RxISK, follows on from last week's Everyone has the right to challenge "Scientific Experts". The article accompanying the image of War on Science from the National Geographic featured in that post made the case that we increasingly live in a world of tribes - the tribes who see vaccination as an unmitigated … [Read more...] about A Broken Utopia? The Internet and Health Activism
Everyone Has The Right To Challenge Scientific Experts
Editorial Note: This post is from John Horgan who writes for Scientific American. The original is here. There is one change - the image used. JH's posts are always worth reading. In this he takes on a worrying trend to regard science as sacrosanct. A recent front cover for National Geographic brought this home to me. To question whether vaccines might cause autism it seems is … [Read more...] about Everyone Has The Right To Challenge Scientific Experts
Winging It: Antidepressants and Plane Crashes
The crash last week of the Germanwings plane has shocked many. In view of the apparent mental health record of the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, questions have been asked about the screening policies of airlines. The focus has generally been on the conditions pilots may have or the arguments they might be having with partners or other situational factors that might make them … [Read more...] about Winging It: Antidepressants and Plane Crashes
Antidepressants and The Tell-Tale Heart 2
Editorial Note: This is Part 2 of Antidepressants and The Tell-Tale Heart. It fits into a sub-series about Pharmaceuticals: Rape and Consent. It also maps straight on to Antidepressant Withdrawal: A Prozac Story and Saving Grace both of which are on RxISK. Saving Grace picks up the Bipolar theme running through Tell Tale Heart. For the record, there is no question but that … [Read more...] about Antidepressants and The Tell-Tale Heart 2