Mad in America: Science News

In this 30-minute podcast, Peter Simons reports on the latest scientific articles in psychiatry. The goal is to provide more detail than is usually found in conventional research news and to help listeners understand how to interpret the findings.

This month, Peter Simons covers in detail a new systematic review that debunks the widely popularized myth of low serotonin in depression, the “chemical imbalance theory.” He then follows up with a study that found less than 25% of people respond to depression treatment in real life, and a study that found that screening for depression in adolescents is ineffective.

• No Evidence Low Serotonin Causes Depression
• Response to Criticism of Our Serotonin Paper
• Less Than a Quarter of Those with Depression Respond to Treatment in Real Life
• Psychiatric Drugs Do Not Improve Disease or Reduce Mortality
• Screening for Depression in Adolescents Does Not Prevent Hospitalizations or Suicide Attempts

In this 30-minute podcast, Peter Simons reports on the latest scientific articles in psychiatry. The goal is to provide more detail than is usually found in conventional research news and to help listeners understand how to interpret the findings.

Articles covered in this podcast include:

• How the mental health app Cerebral is facing accusations of dangerous and unethical practices;
• How Biogen withdrew its European application for failed Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab;
• How pharma company Cassava was the subject of a New York Times exposé on its Alzheimer’s research and outcome data;
• How social media influencers are the new pharma marketers;
• Researchers document how psychiatric textbooks and reviews endorsed the chemical imbalance myth;
• A study finding that antidepressants don’t improve quality of life;
• A study on antidepressants’ dangerous effects on the fetus if taken during pregnancy;
• A paper explaining the difference between antidepressant withdrawal and relapse;
• A paper on the dangers of benzodiazepine withdrawal;
• A study finding that a sense of meaningfulness in life protects against mental distress; and
• A paper by Joanna Moncrieff on the ties between the commodified mental health system and neoliberal capitalism.

In this 30-minute podcast, Peter Simons reports on the latest scientific articles in psychiatry. The goal is to provide more detail than is usually found in conventional research news and to help listeners understand how to interpret the findings.

Articles covered in this podcast include:

• Researchers write that “psychology is fundamentally incompatible with hypothesis-driven theoretical science”;
• Researchers suggest that “evidence-based medicine” is more corporate gimmick than reliable science;
• Psychiatrists deliver the lowest-quality healthcare of any medical specialty;
• A report by the Council of Europe promotes non-coercive mental health treatment;
• Black patients in the US were more than twice as likely to be described negatively in electronic health records;
• A peer-supported Open Dialogue program shows early success in the UK;
• Antipsychotics are often prescribed without informed consent;
• Antidepressants are ineffective for children and adolescents;
• Psychiatric drugs increase dementia risk threefold after COVID in 65+ population; and
• Official guidelines on antidepressant discontinuation fail practitioners and patients.

• Nature: Brain Imaging Studies Are Most Likely False
• Negative Antidepressant Trials Still Unlikely to Be Published
• Did Pharma Companies Hide Failed ADHD Drug Studies From Regulators?
• Study Discovers Extensive Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest in Medical Research
• Esketamine: Dangers and Lingering Questions
• Antipsychotics Worsen Cognitive Functioning in First-Episode Psychosis
• Your Mindset Matters When You Meditate

• Major Review Finds Limited Effectiveness for Medication and Therapy
• Family Physicians Must Change Antidepressant Prescribing Practices
• SSRI Antidepressants Do Not Improve Depression After a Stroke
• Clinicians and Patients Often Disagree on Mental Health Outcomes
• No Meaningful Brain Differences in Depression
• Shifting Away from ECT and Antidepressants for Depression

• Kenneth Kendler: “Implausible” That Psychiatric Diagnoses Even “Approximately True”
• Neurobiological Explanations Can Foreclose Self-Understanding
• Medicalizing Grief May Threaten Our Ability to Mourn
• Research Reveals Mental Health Professionals’ Participation in Rape Culture
• Why the FDA Approved Ineffective Drugs for Low Sexual Desire in Women
• Overuse of Psychiatric Drugs is Worsening Public Mental Health, Doctor Argues

• Researchers Push to End Placebo Run-in Periods in Antidepressant Studies
• Withdrawal Symptoms Cloud Findings of Antidepressant “Relapse” Trial
• Experiences of Prejudice and Discrimination in Mental Healthcare

• Mental Health Literacy Does Not Reduce Stigma, Psychosocial Approaches More Promising
• Essentialist Thinking May Drive Stigma Against People Diagnosed with Schizophrenia
• Meta-analysis of Psychotherapy in Children Finds Lackluster Long Term Results

• Antipsychotics Linked to Increased Breast Cancer Risk
• Screening for Depression in Primary Care Does Not Improve Outcomes
• Alzheimer’s Drug Controversy Continues

• Antipsychotics Increase Risk of Dementia; New Research Illuminates Why
• Antidepressant Effects on Serotonin Plateau at the Minimum Recommended Dose
• Selective Reporting Inflates Effectiveness for Psychotherapy Depression Treatments
• Psychosis Associated with Childhood and Health Care-Related Traumas

• Conflicts of Interest Linked to“Unduly Favorable” Editorials
• Conflicts of Interest in Medical Commentaries Undermine Credibility of Major Journals
• How Pharma Pushes New, Less Effective Drugs on the Market

• 75% of Pharma Companies Fail Basic Transparency Measures
• How to Address the Undermining of Drug Regulators by Pharma
• Newborn Babies Go Through Antidepressant Withdrawal

• “Relapse” in Antidepressant Trials Likely Caused by Sudden Withdrawal
• Sudden Antipsychotic Withdrawal—Not Low Dose—Leads to Relapse
• Tapered Antipsychotic Withdrawal Mitigates Risk of Psychotic Symptoms

• FDA’s “Accelerated Approval” Process Leaves Ineffective Drugs on the Market
• Do we all have Alzheimer’s? Drug makers might want you to think so
• Biogen pulled Aduhelm paper after JAMA demanded edits
• Acting FDA Chief Janet Woodcock Ruled Out as Biden Nominee
• Sage Therapeutics axes 2 zuranolone trials deemed unnecessary for approval in depression

• Researchers Critique the Medical Model, Propose an Alternative
• Medical Sociologist Details the Failures of American Psychiatry

• Federal Investigation into FDA Approval of Alzheimer’s Drug
• Guideline for Education about ADHD
• Poverty Rates in US Counties Predict Youth Suicide Risk
• Four Essential Studies on Antidepressant Withdrawal Every Prescriber Must Read

• A Trauma Survivor Explains the Harms of Screening
• Study Finds No Genetic Correlations with Suicide Risk
• Pets More Effective for Grief Support than Humans, Study Finds

This week, Peter Simons covers the latest news on the FDA's approval of failed Alzheimer's drug aducanumab, against the recommendation of its own advisory committee, which led to three members of the committee resigning in protest. He also covers an article confirming yet again that the FDA's black box warning that antidepressants can cause suicide did not increase suicides. Finally, he covers a study that reveals what exactly service users value about hearing voices groups, and why they are so important.

• FDA Approves Failed Drug Against Advisory Committee Recommendation
• No, the FDA’s Black Box Warning Did Not Increase Suicides
• Qualitative Study Highlights the Meaning and Impact of Hearing Voices Groups