=> Subject: Re: [OT] I wonder how many suicides Kristyne is => responsible for? => => On Jan 10, 2007, at 11:53 AM, Charlie Coleman wrote: => => > Basically, most medical 'science' is 'guessing'. Don't get => me wrong, => > they have a lot of information, data, research, etc, to help them => > guess, but in the end it's pretty much guessing. Surgury is, of => > course, a bit more 'scientific', but most things beyond => that are 'lets => > try this and see what happens.' => => The 'guessing' is the result of those pesky ethical => issues involved in sampling living human brains for analysis. => => The mechanisms have been confirmed in those mammalian => creatures for whom such issues are not as much of a problem. => I did my thesis (degree in Neurological Biochemistry) => studying the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO), which is a => major actor in schizophrenic disorders, but they wouldn't => let me work with human patients for some odd reason. => However, more than a few rats gave their all for the research. => => All kidding aside, it isn't as simple as 'guessing'. => There has to be a ton of neurological research to establish => a mechanism, and then testing on non-human subjects to => confirm the guess there. Only then can they actually start => trying it out on humans. But as I mentioned in a previous => post, a single disease such as depression is actually => several distinct conditions. It would be as unreasonable to => expect every one of those conditions to respond the same way => to the same drug, just as you wouldn't expect the same => treatment for one kind of cancer have the same effect on all => other cancers. => => -- Ed Leafe
As a major consumer of these drugs, I can assure you that it is more guessing than not. Yes, the guesses can be highly educated but the efficacy of a particular drug can vary considerably from patient to patient regardless of the number of common indications to prescribe the drug that any two patients may have. None of the SSRI drugs are indicated for more than 6-8 months of continuous use and I have experienced cases where one drug works very well during one treatment regimen and two years later has a totally opposite effect on me. More recently, one drug was "miraculous" in its effect on me ... for about 3 days ... and then stopped working altogether. The kid who committed suicide because of his disappointment represents an unfortunate reality of life, which we seem to forget includes the "survival of the fittest" attribute. B+ HALinNY P.S. I also grew my own arterial bypass and my cardiologist said that it happens in about 15% of patients who experience reduced clearance. It's a long story but I do not understand how that 15% is determined when most people who do it will not be examined for it. _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: ProFox@leafe.com Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
