Why Do People Enter Research Trials?

This question probably isn't one that's tops on your list of what you'd like to know, but it is an interesting one for me and for you. Let's consider some of the things research tells us.

For one thing, there's that pesky Type A Personality that we keep hearing about. What do you know about this other than it's supposed to be a type of personality that doesn't know when to stop striving for something. It's the hard-driving executive, the super surgeon and who knows who else. Correct? Well, from what I remember of my experimental psych courses, that's not quite the full truth. Many of the people in this and other experiments were poorly chosen and, as a result, the research is flawed. This particular research didn't include women, so how can we talk about a personality type when we are only considering men?

Another major research project tried to look at something called "obedience to authority," but here too they excluded a lot of women because they just found the results too confusing. In other words, they didn't get the result they wanted.

Whenever you see anything about research trials, ask yourself, "Who participated in it" and then think about what that might mean to you in terms of the result.

Believe it or not, there are people in this country who are professional research subjects and they go from clinical trial to clinical trial across the country. They know what they have to do in order to enter a trial and it's a job for them. Yes, people do get paid to be in some clinical trials. In one I saw, a man lived in a very nice apartment in the research lab for three months. Of course, he was videotaped constantly and had to sleep with a wired cap on his head, but he didn't seem to mind. Was he representative of you and me in terms of his sleep pattern? I don't know.

Related Topics:Clinical Trials: Cutting-Edge Care, Clinical Trials and Sleep Disorders

Technorati Tags: clinical trials, medical research

Memo to Clay Aiken

We don't know each other, Clay, but I thought I'd send along some thoughts on your admission that you are now on prescription medication for your panic attacks. I support you and I know how difficult it is to admit to anything that has a tinge of "mental" about it. People aren't always kind and don't always understand. Everyone is still trying to fight the stigma attached to mental health problems in this climate of misunderstanding.

You might like to know that you're not alone in the entertainment world. Donny Osmond, actress Kim Basinger, and weatherman Willard Scott all admit to having had panic attacks and to seeking treatment.

I don't know about them, but as a mental health professional, I know that all signs in the mental health field point to a combination of medication and cognitive therapy as being the most effective treatment. Perhaps you would like to think about the reason why you wouldn't opt for the most effective treatment and would prefer going halfway.

No, I'm not asking you to enter into a long dialog with anyone about your life, but I do think you might want to learn how to help yourself. You've done a lot in your life and you've overcome a lot through your own resources.

Like it or not, your decision not to seek therapy will affect others with panic disorder. They may not go into treatment because they will see you as an example to follow. What you do now can help not only you, but everyone who hears about your struggle. You have an opportunity to help yourself and to help others.

Related Topics: Panic Disorder Often Undertreated , Fewer Panic Attacks with Talk Therapy


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Do Innocent People Commit Suicide?

A recent news story told about Melinda Duckett, a young Florida mother who, after a particularly difficult TV interview, took her father's shotgun and killed herself. A physician colleague of mine clearly felt she must have done it because she was guilty of the abduction of her young son. The woman's son had disappeared from his crib during the night. When the woman went in to check on him, she found the window screen had been slit open and her son was gone.

The prime suspects in crimes against children, according to police experts, are the parents. Remember the JonBenet Ramsey case and then there was the abduction and brutal murder of Danielle van Dam in San Diego?

The van Dams were portrayed as twisted swingers and they were subjected to multiple grillings. It turned out the murderer was the next door neighbor, a software engineer who took her from her bed. What a horrible experience these parents had. First they lose their child and then they are relentlessly questioned as the prime suspects.

Is the woman in Florida guilty or innocent? We won't know that, probably, until the police complete their investigation or the child is found.

Do innocent people kill themselves? Let me put it another way. If you were harassed and questioned for hours on end, kept away from family and friends and all of this was happening while you were grieving for the loss of your child, would you do something impulsive? I think you might and I also think that no one knows the limits to which they can be stretched until they are in that situation.

I equate comments such as, "I'd never do that" in the same category as the small boy who told me he'd never get run over by a car because he'd jump out of the way first. He was killed by a bus.

Stress can distort your world view, increase your inability to make good judgments, push the impulsivity button and result in totally unpredictable behavior. I've seen it happen time and time again, but in those cases, the people were rushed to the protection of a hospital in time.

How would you weigh in on the Florida case?

Related Topics: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression: The Mask of Sorrow


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Is Brain Surgery a Sure Cure for Anxiety?

Over the years, many people have crossed my professional path, but a few of them remain much more clearly drawn than others. For instance, there's the cook about whom I wrote recently, a young man with autism, another who had Kleinfelter's Syndrome, a mildly retarded man and an older woman who was one of the first to receive the then-newly-discovered surgery of prefrontal lobotomy. The surgery, which had also been performed on President Kennedy's sister Rosemary, was seen as a wonderful advance in modern medicine and it was hoped that it would help those who seemed unreachable.

One-third of the patients in the sample had problems with what we call "executive functioning," meaning judgment and planning. They also appeared apathetic, developed epilepsy and disinhibition. The latter can mean they might give in to impulse and act as they wish. Certainly sounds like the woman I knew in that mental health setting years ago.

The one patient I saw had had a lobotomy to help with her angry rages that endangered everyone around her. They later found that it hadn't handled the rages at all. Seems she had a form of epilepsy and a strong antisocial streak. I found her harmless and that might not have been a good thing, but she never showed her anger to me.

Intractable obsessive-compulsive disorder is another disorder where surgeons have tried to intervene with brain surgery. There, too, the watchword has to be caveat emptor or let the buyer beware because a new report from the Karolinska Institute detailed their having followed records of patients over 23 years. The procedure, called capsulotomy, was supposed to stop the behaviors and thoughts, but new evidence seems to point to problematic side effects.

I remember being at a psychiatric hospital where the surgical suite had been closed many years before I ever came there. One of the staff told me about the patients with schizophrenia who had had lobotomies there. In the enormous, oak-paneled room where staff meetings were held there were photos on the wall of surgeons with lobotomy patients. But it wasn't to be.

So far, it seems like brain surgery has not proven to be a cure.

Related Topics: Less Depression after Epilepsy Surgery, WebMD Video: New Technology May Revive an Old Stroke Surgery

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Misusing Medicine to Increase Grades?

There has been a buzz on the internet lately from concerned parents, mental health professionals and those in the media and it's all about the belief that kids can get into better colleges if only they can get an edge.

The "edge" in this instance is medication meant to help kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Some psychiatrists and pediatricians are talking about parents coming in to ask for prescriptions for their kids; prescriptions that aren't warranted. A few physicians have indicated that these parents "demanded" a prescription for the med.

Is there any science behind this belief? Sure, but it's science that shows that kids with this disorder can settle down and pay more attention in school, have better concentration and can get better grades. But that's when the med is used for kids who seem to have a basic problem in brain wiring, not for kids who have no such problem.

The urge to get the edge in college admissions may have taken a dangerous turn in this one and no one will know what the outcome may be. Once this dash to "juice" a kid and their grades has seen its run end, what will these parents do next? We should all be concerned when medication is used improperly and this sounds like improper use to me.

Related Topics: Adderall Abuse in College Students, Rx Drug Abuse: Common and Dangerous

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Crocodile Hunter: A Sobering Lesson for Kids

Steve Irwin, the internationally known naturalist aka "The Crocodile Hunter," met an unexpected and tragic death over this holiday weekend. While filming an ocean documentary, for which his young daughter was to be the host, he was killed by the venomous barb on a stingray. These animals are usually thought of as harmless and we're being told that only three known deaths have resulted from one of these stings.

While his death is a tragedy and all of our thoughts and prayers go to the family, it is a moment that will touch children especially. It was the kids who came to love this charming fellow in khaki shorts who wrestled gators to rescue them and talked knowledgably about the dangers that face wild animals. His exploits were probably responsible for kids wanting to learn more about animals and science and to read about these subjects. Irwin's influence is enormous.

Kids are going to want to talk about the loss because the media has covered it extensively. How do you handle their concern and their anxiety about going swimming? I'm sure they're asking, "If it can happen to Steve Irwin, can it happen to me?"

Sit down with the kids and let them talk about their thoughts, if they want to talk. Let the kids take the lead here and tell them that this was a terrible accident. Also tell them that one of the best things to do when walking in warm water is to shuffle your feet. Let them know that's what animal experts are advising. It is still safe to go swimming in the ocean or a lake or anywhere else. The thing that we always have to do is to remember to use good judgment, know basic beach safety rules, and follow the advice of adults in the area.

The lesson is one we may not have wanted to deal with right now with school just starting, but it can open up a dialogue that will extend into the school year. Remember that a calm, reassuring voice is needed and open-ended questions will help the children express themselves.

Related Topics: First Aid and Emergencies: Stingray Injury Treatment, Beach Safety 101

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