Rolling in Ecstasy: MDMA Use in the United States Many people may find it difficult to believe that a drug claimed to be able to kill within one usage actually is beneficial and safe for treating a wide variety of medical diseases. This is especially the case for the infamous and reportedly deadly “club drug,” MDMA or Methylenedioxymethamphetamine. MDMA was first synthesized by Merck Pharmaceuticals in 1912 as a potential headache medication, but after finding no connection they deemed further studies unnecessary. This caused the drug to essentially vanish until 1977, when a chemist by the name of Charles Shulgin took a second look at MDMA and discovered that Merck may have been very wrong. Dr. Shulgin found the drug to be therapeutic and christened it “window” as he felt it
“Shock of the Past for Modern Medicine”, by Roger Lewin The article “Shock of the Past for Modern Medicine” by Roger Lewin discuss the how or if medical conditions and diseases should be treated. The effects of modern medicine have made significant advances in recent history. Doctors and scientists have discovered new treatments and preventive strategies to treat number of illnesses and conditions. The questions lie on whether or not these treatments actually help aid in recovery or if they hinder the progress and evolution of the human species. Lewin talks about a number of conditions that humans commonly suffer from.
Antidepressants: Are You Better With Them Or Without? Depression affects many people all over the world. It’s a chemical imbalance most people think. Researchers, drug manufacturers, and even the Food and Drug Administration state that antidepressants work by normalizing levels of brain neurotransmitters. Many people believe that people shouldn’t take any kind of drug to get rid of depression.
The only physicians the author interviews in his book involve the topic of genetic doping. How could you write a book on steroids and not interview Harrison Pope, M.D. from Harvard, the leading expert on anabolic steroids? Jendrick dismisses the medical consequences of steroid use, blaming the media for sensationalizing and spreading misinformation about steroids. While I agree that the media uses scare tactics to alarm the public and grab more ratings, his claim that 99% of testicular shrinkage returns to previous size after discontinuation of steroids is more irresponsible.
People who usually take Crystal Meth seek the pleasure from the chemical reaction in the brain and a hyper effect on the body systems. People who use Crystal Meth will experience hyper activity and won’t be able to properly sleep and will become lazy. People who take Crystal Meth appear normal, but for many years of taking the drug, the hidden effects build up. Methamphetamine addiction is very damaging to the body and mind. Bad temper and social difficulties are obvious effects.
Ultimately, the patient remains physically dependent on the opioid methadone, but is freed from the uncontrolled, compulsive, and disruptive behaviour seen in heroin addicts. Although does it really work as a method of getting addicts of heroin for good? Methadone has been used since the 1980’s in Scotland as a controlled and supposedly safe substitute for heroin. However is taking drugs to stop taking drugs an effective strategy? Taking statistics into consideration the answer is no.
Is there more to psychedelics than, turn on, tune in, drop out? After leaking from the laboratory, psychedelics were exploited for recreational use. Many people used these substances hoping to have spiritual experiences, but after widespread misuse, they became illegalized. With acid and other psychedelics closely associated with arising counterculture, they were quickly taboo. With the era of hippies and anti-psychedelics somewhat forgotten, the research of hallucinogens is quietly reemerging.
In addition, the team wanted to launch and develop a new antidepressant. This being the reason, Kaiser the marketing direct at Eli Lilly and company decided to come up with an alternative, and the New Antidepressant Team (NAT) decided on Cymbalta. The main reason behind this pick was because Cymbalta appeared to be better than Prozac, no safety or toxicity issues, and more customer demand. Keiser was analyzing his ideas about investing on large skills clinical trials or invest on a clinical trials for a new suggestion. However, Kaiser didn’t know that the new director of commercial development for Cymbalta Jim Lancaster was also headed toward the meeting with different mindset.
In the article The Mathematics of Making Up Your Mind by Will Hively, the author summarizes the analysis of the statistical difference between two medications, tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and streptokinase, used for treating heart attack victims. The author says that all cardiologists agree that both drugs work well, but they disagree on which of the drugs should be used. In order to help doctors decide which drug to use, James Brophy, a cardiologist interested in knowing which drug is superior, teams up with a biostatistician named Lawrence Joseph, and the two published a controversial paper. Brophy and Joseph claimed that to make a rational decision, physicians should follow Bayes' theorem. Bayes' theorem was essentially a formula for updating any kind of belief when confronted with new evidence.
Transcendental Meditation There is a trend occurring shifting the medical model to a holistic healing that utilizes complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The medical model is excellent at treating acute life threatening diseases and injuries. Modern medicine is struggling to treat chronic medical and psychological problems with pharmacological medications, hospitalization, and lifestyle modifications. As a result, holistic healing is gaining popularity among the population in the United States. Holistic healing means taking a "wholistic" approach to balance any imbalances in a “whole” person, i.e.