D.S.M. "out of touch with science"

This isn't the sexiest story in the news today, but I think it's interesting and important. Essentially, a battle is brewing over the long adhered to categories of the D.S.M., basically the diagnostic bible of psychiatry.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/07/health/psychiatrys-new-guide-falls-short-experts-say.html?ref=us&_r=0

The problem? It essentially had little basis in science, organized by symptoms, not cause. The problem? We don't really know the causes of mental illness at this point. The piece reminded me of a huge row we had here a few years ago when I said that the "chemical imbalance" language was, at best, oversimplified and, more likely, flatly inaccurate.

From the NYT piece:

"The mechanisms of the field's most commonly used drugs - antidepressants like Prozac, and anti psychosis medications like Zyprexa - have revealed nothing about the causes of these disorders. And major drug makers have scaled back psychiatric drug development, having virtually no new biological 'targets' to shoot for."

I'm fascinated to see what Obama's plan to map the human brain yields. People may view the D.S.M. the way we view leeches.

 

¿Que?

 

There was a recent study that indicated the cause for ADHD could be sleep deprivation. If you're a parent whose child was/is prescribed ADHD drugs (ritalin, adderall, etc.) based on a DSM evaluation, this is unsettling. The DSM process amounts to little more than hearsay.

 

Kuhn writes about this in his The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. We might be entering a revolutionary phase in which what had been fundamental assumptions are thrown out and entirely new paradigm of progress is begun.

 

I should point out that leeches still have a medical function and are still in use for very specific treatments. I kid you not. My wife, who is an ICU nurse, once used them for a patient. I don't recall exactly what it was for, but I believe they were prescribed to control subdural bleeding. Maybe around the brain?

 

Explain.

 

I think he's trying to say it's out of touch with Scientology, too.

 

Nah, that was during the interview in which he came across as a voice of reason against psychiatric medicine.

 

Meant to post this link earlier. Apparently the placebo effect is becoming a big, big issue for low-effectiveness drugs (like psychotropics):

http://asserttrue.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/new-patents-aim-to-reduce-placebo-effect.html