I was reading Nancy's article "Inducing Dementia", published in the blog Life in the Second Half, and I found there such vital information that I really couldn't let it pass by. Some things really shocked me, but the one I want to focus my attention on is the use of Ritalin in children, to deal with ADD or ADHD sindrome.
The author of this study is an American psychiatrist called Grace E. Jackson. It was posted in Lynn MacTaggart's blog (I couldn't find the link, unfortunately), who raised this issue. Now, that we put our emphasis in children with Special Needs (the name is already controversial), it is time to think about this! I wanted to give some kind of continuity to this subject, because Ritalin is so widely used in my country (as in so many others), and most of the parents are so unaware of its side effects!
The question is: how unselfish, how wise is the decision of prescribing Ritalin to children? Can the short-term effects compensate the long-term damage that this medicine causes? Would we, in the due time, have given Ritalin to Albert Einstein, Louis Pasteur, Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison or to Mozart, for example?
I call your attention to this excerpt of Nancy's post.
"Not-so-subtle brain damage:
The damage caused by psychiatric medicine is only the tip of the iceberg. I began to look into this issue myself and discovered a good number of the major classes of drugs that doctors give patients as they age bring on dementia.
Heart drugs, cholesterol lowering drugs, sleeping pills, antidepressants, narcotics, stimulants, including Ritalin, the ADHD drug given to children, anti-cholinergics, anti-epileptic drugs, to name just a few, all can damage the structure of the brain.
Anti-depressants shrink the hippocampus of the brain, and statins lower crucial fats, or lipids, which compose much of brain tissue.
Beta-blockers and other drugs that aggressively lower blood pressure, such as calcium channel blockers and ACE inhibitors, also lower blood flow to the brain, creating all the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease
Even good old painkillers – the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory class of drugs – can cause a variety of cognitive changes, from delirium to disturbances in memory and concentration.
Many of these drugs actually shrink brain volume, destroying the crucial fatty structures of brain cells, or causing abnormal accumulation of tissue in vital brain structures."
http://lifeinthesecondhalf.blogspot.com/
If you still have any doubts, please take a look at the site Drugs.com, where you'll find precious information on this subject.
The author of this study is an American psychiatrist called Grace E. Jackson. It was posted in Lynn MacTaggart's blog (I couldn't find the link, unfortunately), who raised this issue. Now, that we put our emphasis in children with Special Needs (the name is already controversial), it is time to think about this! I wanted to give some kind of continuity to this subject, because Ritalin is so widely used in my country (as in so many others), and most of the parents are so unaware of its side effects!
The question is: how unselfish, how wise is the decision of prescribing Ritalin to children? Can the short-term effects compensate the long-term damage that this medicine causes? Would we, in the due time, have given Ritalin to Albert Einstein, Louis Pasteur, Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison or to Mozart, for example?
I call your attention to this excerpt of Nancy's post.
"Not-so-subtle brain damage:
The damage caused by psychiatric medicine is only the tip of the iceberg. I began to look into this issue myself and discovered a good number of the major classes of drugs that doctors give patients as they age bring on dementia.
Heart drugs, cholesterol lowering drugs, sleeping pills, antidepressants, narcotics, stimulants, including Ritalin, the ADHD drug given to children, anti-cholinergics, anti-epileptic drugs, to name just a few, all can damage the structure of the brain.
Anti-depressants shrink the hippocampus of the brain, and statins lower crucial fats, or lipids, which compose much of brain tissue.
Beta-blockers and other drugs that aggressively lower blood pressure, such as calcium channel blockers and ACE inhibitors, also lower blood flow to the brain, creating all the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease
Even good old painkillers – the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory class of drugs – can cause a variety of cognitive changes, from delirium to disturbances in memory and concentration.
Many of these drugs actually shrink brain volume, destroying the crucial fatty structures of brain cells, or causing abnormal accumulation of tissue in vital brain structures."
http://lifeinthesecondhalf.blogspot.com/
If you still have any doubts, please take a look at the site Drugs.com, where you'll find precious information on this subject.
You may also read disturbing conclusions at JustGetThere.us. In this article, Ritalin is linked to 500% increased risk of Sudden Death in children and teenagers. Five hundred per cent!
My special thanks to Nancy, for calling our attention, because children deserve the best... And have no choice.
My special thanks to Nancy, for calling our attention, because children deserve the best... And have no choice.
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4 comments:
Un aleteo vuelo por tu espacio es maravilloso..
Que tengas un lindo día..
Un abrazo
Saludos fraternos....
Thanks for highlighting this issue. This is really a violation of human rights and ethics. I wonder how unethical acts such as this are allowed at the expense of these children?
Some of this may well be true, but before taking anything for granted, visit Ben Goldacre's site Bad Scince, or read his book by the same name.
Unfair, unfair... another of those issues which make us feel impotent, disappointed with the rest of so-called 'humans'.
Un abrazo
D.
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