There is a battle underway in the genteel circles of academic psychiatry. The disputed question is: Are antidepressants (ADs) good or bad for patients with bipolar disorder?

“Be careful, doctor. Don’t order lab tests that you don’t really need. You’re asking for trouble.” No, that’s not TCR talking. That’s none other than George Lundberg, M.D., former editor of JAMA. He made that statement in an editorial webcast in January 2005 on Medscape, where Dr. Lundberg is Editor-in-Chief.

There have been many misguided treatments for bipolar disorder and other major mental illnesses throughout the history of psychiatry, but perhaps none has been as misguided--and as damaging--as the one practiced by Henry Aloysius Cotton, M.D.

Many pages of The Carlat Report have been devoted to how we cause our patients to become obese with some of the medications we prescribe. In this article, we review ways in which we can atone for our sins.

Too many of our patients smoke, especially those with schizophrenia. Amazingly, the best estimate is that 85% of patients with schizophrenia are regular smokers (Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:993-997). While we may not have a whole lot of time during our sessions to discuss smoking, it’s still helpful to tuck away some smoking cessation tools in your arsenal.

Archeological evidence suggests that tobacco grew in the Americas as long ago as 6000 B.C., and that the custom of smoking it began with the Mayans, sometime around 1000 B.C. The first European to smoke is thought to be Rodrigo de Jerez, who, with Christopher Columbus, observed the custom in Cuba in 1493.

Okay, we’re assuming, number one, that you have done a good job diagnosing ADD or ADHD, and that ADHD is the primary diagnosis, far out-shadowing any comorbid problems that may also be present. And number two, we are assuming that you, the patient, and the parents (if the patient is under age) have all agreed that now is the time for a medication trial.

Six short years ago, an influential study came out in Archives of General Psychiatry that was widely interpreted as showing that therapy adds little of value to the treatment of ADHD (Arch Gen Psychiatry 1999; 56:1073-1086).

On February 9, 2005, Health Canada (HC) announced that it was suspending sales of Adderall XR in Canada because of concerns that it might lead to sudden death and stroke. The FDA, however, has begged to differ.

Amphetamine was first synthesized in Germany in 1887. It became popular as a recreational drug in the US in the 1930s. While cocaine was declared illegal in 1914, amphetamines were widely available, and were often used by college students and truck drivers.