At 11:27 AM -0500 4/28/04, Paul C. Smith wrote:
There's an interesting letter to the editor in the NYTimes today:
=============================
To the editor:
Re: 'Depressing News on Depression,' your April 23 editorial about
antidepressants and children:
These medicines are more effective than you say, and not as harmful as
you suggest. I prescribe them to young people because of the drugs'
impressive clinical effects on both anxiety and depression, not because of
research studies. I have no financial interest in any drug company. Sadly,
your editorial will cause some parents to panic and discontinue medications
that may be benefitting their kids.
Steven Simring, M.D.
Newark, April 26, 2004
The writer is an associate professor of psychiatry, New Jersey Medical
School
=============================
So, um, are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Yeah, sure.
Good ole clinical intuition; don't bother me with the
facts.
Where are you when we need you, Paul Meehl?
Of course, sandwiched between the two letters from psychiatrists
defending their prescription turf was another one which said:
In "Depressing News on Depression" (editorial, April 23), you ask whether doctors have been dispensing antidepressants "far too cavalierly." You should also ask whether doctors are too aggressively marketing and advertising these questionable drugs in their offices.
A recent visit to my family doctor was like a visit to the set of an antidepressant commercial. A Lexapro clock hung on the wall, and a referral was written down on a Zoloft notepad. When did Lexapro start making clocks, and why would any doctor choose such a clock over a Timex or a Seiko? And when safety questions arise about a class of drugs, like S.S.R.I.'s, can patients expect independent advice from doctors who plaster advertising for the same drugs all over their offices? I don't think so.
MATT KELLEHER
San Francisco, April 23, 2004
--
* PAUL K.
BRANDON
[EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* Psychology Dept Minnesota State University *
* 23 Armstrong Hall, Mankato, MN 56001 ph 507-389-6217 *
* http://www.mnsu.edu/dept/psych/welcome.html *
* Psychology Dept Minnesota State University *
* 23 Armstrong Hall, Mankato, MN 56001 ph 507-389-6217 *
* http://www.mnsu.edu/dept/psych/welcome.html *
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