Ezine Archive

Editor’s Comment

Remarkably, this issue starts our 5th year of bringing you the AMH News. The small newsletter we started is now so full of announcements and news items that we can scarcely contain them all.

Through the hard work and support of so many, Safe Harbor now has events going across the planet the next three months.

Would you like to help? Like all other organizations, Safe Harbor needs funding to operate. We need it to hire staff, pay our bills, and fund the many events we do.

Once a year Safe Harbor actively engages in fundraising so that we can support this important work. That time is now. Our big event is October 7, as you see below. A lot of people, including Dr. Laura Schlessinger, are donating their time and efforts to make this event a success to bring us much-needed funds.

You can help by buying your tickets early. If you can’t come, you can donate tickets or donate to our general funds or to help us underwrite the event. Or you can connect us with a foundation that may want to help underwrite the event or support our work.

If you can help us with the finances, I assure you that we will provide the heart, passion, and hard work so that, together, we can continue to carry out our motto of “changing lives every day.”

Announcements

GUEST EDITORIAL: FORCED MENTAL HEALTH SCREENINGS – A PSYCHIATRIC INQUISITION

(The following was sent to us in response to recent headlines claiming that the Bush Administration is in support of mandatory screenings for mental disorders.)

Forced screening of the general population for “mental illness,” and the possibility of forced
treatment for those then “diagnosed,” is a dangerous un-American fraud. When people are troubled, they, and they alone, should determine whether to seek help, and, if so, where. We don’t need experts to tell us when we are troubled. And when children have difficulties, it is the parents, not the state, who have primary responsibility for helping to deal with them.

“Mental illness” is a vague term which has now expanded beyond all limits. Should “experts” so label any of us, or our children, how do we disprove it? And should they then insist that medication be given against our will – as some public schools are already doing with ADHD-labeled children – how do we protect ourselves against these often-dangerous substances?

Some forty years ago, a psychologist on Long Island urged a group of educators to have “mental health teams” drop unannounced into classrooms to find “sick” teachers needing “treatment,” because they were supposedly so harmful to their students. All present were horrified, and rejected this proposed resurrection of the medieval Inquisition, with “mental health experts” taking the role of the medieval Church.

Psychiatry has been called the only business in America where the customer is always wrong. Allowing it forcibly to screen the American public would benefit only the screeners and the drug companies, and harm the rest of us – as well as destroying our democratic traditions of free speech and thought.

NATUROPATHIC PROGRAM FUNDED AT PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL

A year ago, The Center became one of the first community mental health centers in the United States to offer naturopathic medicine as a treatment option. At a time when more people are seeking alternatives to traditional medical care and, in particular, looking to rely less on medication to manage their symptoms, the demand for complementary therapies like those provided by naturopathic medicine is growing. Research has shown that naturopathic therapies including clinical nutrition, vitamin and mineral therapy and botanical medicine, are effective in treating conditions such as attention deficit disorder, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other behavioral health problems.

According to The Center’s Medical Director, Daniel P. Potenza, MD, “The Ittleson Foundation grant affords us an exciting and unique opportunity to establish a first-of-its-kind program model. Dr. Jeffrey Sager, the naturopathic doctor on our staff, will be developing the program model, treatment protocols, educational and program development materials that will be an invaluable tool for other mental health organizations locally and nationally who want to replicate the program.”

Dr. Sager, a licensed doctor of naturopathic medicine, joined the staff of The Center’s Bedford
Counseling Associates one year ago. He is also on the staff of the Center for Life Management, the community mental health agency located in Derry.

Since 1932, The Ittleson Foundation has been serving the needs of the underprivileged and providing resources for not-for-profit organizations. Today, The Foundation continues a commitment to bringing a “venture capital” approach to philanthropy and is particularly interested in the areas of mental health, AIDS, and the environment.

STUDY SHOWS DIETARY NIACIN EFFECTIVE IN PREVENTING ALZHEIMER’S

It has been known that a severe deficiency of niacin (B3) causes a condition called pellagra, which is characterized by dementia, and that pellagra can be resolved with synthetic niacin. However previous studies did not determine whether dietary niacin would also be an effective guard against mental deterioration.

Dietary data was collected every three years from 1993 to 2003 from a group of 6158 Chicago
residents over 65 years old. Cognitive testing was done four times over that period of time. A
random sample of various subgroups within this larger group (sorted by race, age, sex and those who had a change in cognitive performance) was done. Of 815 people identified for the random sample, 131 participants experienced mental decline.

The random sample was then divided into five groups, rated according to their intake of dietary niacin. The top fifth (highest intake of niacin-rich foods) were 80% less likely to develop dementia than the group in the bottom fifth. The middle three groups were 70% less likely to develop dementia than the bottom fifth.

The study provided controls for various important risk factors for dementia, such as age, education, race, and the presence of a gene associated with risk for Alzheimer’s, as well as intake of various other B vitamins, antioxidants, fats, and folate.

Food sources of niacin include liver, poultry, fish, lean meats, whole and enriched grains (except corn), dried peas and beans, nuts, peanuts, Brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, avocados, and dates.

HELPING THE HELPLESS IN CALCUTTA, INDIA

None of the centers she looked into offered real, practical answers. She decided to do it herself, founding the Turning Point center and designing its entire program. Where other centers offered bookbinding or pickle making as occupational therapy, she launched a computer training program for mental patients, the first of its kind in Calcutta.

Her programs have garnered international praise, usually accompanied by astonishment that she has done all this without funding. She is recognized as a pioneer in making patients more responsible. Her paper on the role of responsibility in mental treatment has been adopted by the WFSAD Conference (World Fellowships for Schizophrenia and Related Disorders).

Turning Point’s first conference took up the subject of caring for the caregiver. Under her
leadership the first parent group was formed in Calcutta, a precursor to the present trend toward family acceptance and contribution as an alternative to institutionalization.

Ishita has arranged a number of awareness programs on mental health, and plans to start a mental health quiz program at Swabhumi.

In addition to all these activities, she is a regular columnist at the Telegraph, working to promote broad public awareness and understanding of mental health issues.

JAPANESE RESEARCH LINKS TOXICITY AND AGGRESSION

The article echoed the concern of the Japan Society of Endocrine Disrupters Research that DDT, dioxin, PCB, plastics, BPA, nonylphenol, and about 65 other named substances can suppress normal growth, nervous system and cognitive development, and fertility, with abnormal behavior a likely outcome.

The Society stressed the importance of the problem at its June 25 meeting, following the release of a report that rats fed Bisphenol A – a chemical used in the manufacture of wrapping paper, plastic bottles, and other products – found it more difficult to negotiate a maze and exhibited ADHD-like symptoms.

Female rats born to mothers that had ingested Glufosinate, a weed killer used on golf courses, were extremely aggressive toward other rats. The chemical structure of Glufosinate mimics that of glutaminic acid, which is indispensable to the human brain.

A national campaign to assess the damage caused by such substances has lost momentum of late, said the story.

In Taiwan, an average drop of about five percentage points in IQ on average was reported among children aged 6 to 7 suffering from polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) poisoning.

Underactive thyroid function in mothers during the early stages of pregnancy has been linked to lower IQ scores in their children. Chemically, PCB resembles thyroid hormones and may inhibit their production.

Studies conducted in the mid-1990s reported that small traces of an endocrine disrupter could lead to smaller testes in carp and smaller penises on crocodiles, while male fish exhibited more female traits.

Japanese scientists have dubbed such chemicals “environmental hormones” because of their
hormone-like behavior when ingested, a kind of toxicity that defies usual classification.

Yoichiro Kuroda of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience said: “If something unusual happens to genes, any effects will take several thousand to several tens of thousands of years to become obvious. The abrupt changes in the past must have been caused by chemical substances.”

STREPTOCOCCAL INFECTIONS MAY LEAD TO DYSKINESIA IN CHILDREN

In the report, Dr. R.C. Dale and colleagues summarized their experience of post-streptococcal
dyskinesias and mental symptoms in 40 patients (ranging in age from 1.2 to 16 years) examined between 1999 and 2002 at London’s Institute of Child Health.

The most frequent dyskinesias were chorea (rapid, involuntary dance-like movements) in 20 children, vocal tics in 17 children, and motor tics in 16.

An infectious illness compatible with beta-hemolytic streptococci shortly preceded the movement disorder onset in 34 children, the authors report, whereas the remaining 6 patients had 2 or more relapses associated with streptococcal infections.

Additionally, 33 of the children experienced mood swings, obsessions, compulsions, or depression, sometimes accompanied by unwanted behaviors.

The disorder resolved completely after one episode in 11 patients (27.5%), the results indicate, but 15 have persistent static disease, and 14 have relapses associated with further infections. It is hoped that further study will lead to effective treatment methodologies.

SCHIZOPHRENIA DRUG MAKER ADMITS RISKS

Janssen Pharmaceutica Products sent a two-page letter to the health care community in July to
clarify the risks of Risperdal, said Carol Goodrich, a spokeswoman for the Johnson & Johnson
subsidiary.

The letter complied with a directive issued last year by the Food and Drug Administration, which told several makers of anti-psychotic drugs to update their product labels.

Janssen reported compliance in November 2003, but the FDA determined that the company’s promotional materials still minimized the risk of strokes, diabetes and other potentially fatal complications. The agency also said Janssen made misleading claims that the medication was safer in treating mental illness than similar drugs.

The Miami Herald reported in July that a handful of boys in Florida developed lactating breasts
after taking Risperdal.

Also in July, the drug – which is prescribed to more than 10 million people internationally – was named in a federal lawsuit by a doctor who claims children have been harmed and even killed by the misuse of drugs he blames on aggressive marketing by drug manufacturers.

Risperdal was first marketed about eight years ago.

ANTIDEPRESSANT DANGERS CONTINUE TO MAKE HEADLINES

The European Commission is expected to ratify the findings this fall, which would make the
recommendations law throughout the European Union (EU).

The European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) had announced in April that Seroxat can lead to an increased risk of “suicide-related behaviour in young adults,” recommending extra caution in prescribing the drug to those aged 18 to 29 and calling close monitoring of patients throughout treatment. The EMEA licenses drugs for use in the EU.

A significant number of patients prescribed Seroxat are under 30, according to the drug’s
manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline. The drug was banned for patients under 18 in the UK last year.

The mental health charity Mind called on the UK Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to order family doctors to warn all their depressed patients about the EMEA’s findings immediately.

A Mind spokeswoman said: “The European ruling on Seroxat makes it very clear that the very real problems with this drug potentially go far beyond the groups already acknowledged to be at risk.

“When there are up to 800,000 people currently taking Seroxat in the UK, there is an urgent need for these risks to be made plainly known, and for GPs to be very aware of potential problems when they hand out prescriptions.”

In the U.S., an unprecedented effort has been undertaken to evaluate suicides in a large population of depressed individuals taking antidepressant drugs for months or years. The study analyzed data collected on more than 2,500 patients prescribed fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), amitriptyline, or dothiepin.

Suicides and suicide attempts increased sharply in the month after patients started taking the
antidepressants, reported Hershel Jick and colleagues at the Boston University School of Medicine (Journal of the American Medical Association, July 21). They argued, however, that the suicides must be a result of the depression and not of the drug treatment, which supposedly takes several weeks to “kick in.”

SUCCESSFUL NON-DRUG PROGRAM FOR LEARNING-DISABLED KIDS

After only four months of twice daily exercises, eighty-three 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students showed 75% more reading progress than a control group of non-learning disabled students from the same grades.

According to the school principal, learning-disabled children typically progress in reading ability only 25% to 50% as much as non-learning disabled students over a given period.
The Learning Breakthrough Program is a balance and sensory activity program designed to help better organize brain processing in order to improve a child’s overall functioning in areas of learning such as reading, writing, comprehension and focus.

The program is suitable for those 7 years and older. Improvement reportedly becomes permanent after 9-12 months of use for fifteen minutes twice daily.

The program may not only help struggling children catch up, but may help gifted children to excel. It does not replace skills training or tutoring, but enhances the results of such activities.

According to Dr. Irvine Mason, Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, “It is
difficult for many to understand how a physical exercise program can improve reading, writing, comprehension and attention ability. My initial skepticism was replaced with excitement after a careful review of the program, research and user reports. With one in six school children diagnosed with a learning disability and probably an equal number that fall through the cracks, widespread use of a non-medical program such as this will have a significant impact on not only the children and families involved, but society as well.”

“As the parent of a child with dyslexia who was also identified as gifted and talented, I had looked at everything I could find,” says Mrs. Ratliff, principal, C.L. Milton Elementary School. “The balance and sensory exercises that are part of the Learning Breakthrough Program made sense to me. So much so, that I took a leap and integrated it into the school. Simultaneously, my 8-year-old son used the program at home each day. After 5 months of program use, his reading level jumped by 2 years. My goal was to guide other parents who I knew from experience were as frustrated and desperate as I was in trying to help their children succeed.”

A child enrolled in the program watches on videotape, then performs tasks such as throwing beanbags, tossing balls at a bounce-back target, and tapping a hanging ball, while standing on a unique balance board. Two 15-minute sessions per day are recommended for maximum benefit.