Mental Illness vs Brain Cell Loss

— A bunch of cells missing in the memory and cognition area, in the hippocampus, we call that Alzheimer’s.

— A bunch of cells missing in the motor area that produce dopamine, we call that Parkinson’s.

— A bunch of cells lose their ability to produce an anti-oxidant called super-oxide dismutase, we call that Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS.

— A bunch of cells missing in the limbic areas, we call that

schizophrenia.

— A bunch of nerve fibers missing coverings along with some missing cells in motor areas, we call that Multiple Sclerosis.

— A bunch of cells missing that produce serotonin, we call that chronic major depression.

— A bunch of “inter-neurons” missing in the hippocampus, we call that bi-polar disorder

.

You can give drugs that artificially try to compensate for production of substances by cells that no longer exist, and just like giving people cholesterol lowering drugs their underlying brain cell loss issue will persist and get worse over time.

.

Or you can walk willing patients through a process of regenerating the cells. Their issues will improve over time.

.

Excellent drug care isn’t excellent medical care. Something is wrong with your car. The mechanic isolates the problem and slaps a name on it. Under the excellent care of your mechanic, the problem gets worse over time and never gets resolved.

You recommend the mechanic to friends and co-workers.

.

When it comes to medical care, we are not consumers.

We don’t behave as consumers.

We make choices we wouldn’t make in any other market sector.

.

We provide unearned praise about service providers we wouldn’t provide in any other market sector.

—————

.

“As long as people will accept crap, it will be financially profitable to

dispense it.”

[Dick Cavett]

.

“The difference between the effect of a placebo and the effect of an

anti-depressant is minimal for most people……People get better when they take the drug, but its not the chemical ingredients in the drug that are making them better, its largely the placebo effect.”

Irving Kirsch [Associate Director Placebo Studies, Harvard Medical School]

.

“The U.S. mental health system is in crisis….according to a federal

report.”

“The fundamental problem: emphasizing medicating people over fostering ways to help them lead productive lives.”

Associated Press, The Daily Texan [September 17, 2002]

.

“Practice is not reflecting the research. Ninety to 95% of programs have no research base. The gap between what is known and what is being provided in routine care is huge.”

Kimberly Hogwood [New York Office Of Mental Health] Associated Press, The Daily Texan, April 11, 2002