Introducing... The E. Fuller Torrey Brain Trust

Has Dr. Torrey actually accomplished anything with his decades of work on theories and hoard of brains?

http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2003/janfeb/features/torrey.html

Are some of the brains Torrey obtains and uses actually stolen?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Fuller_Torrey

                       http://www.cafepress.com/dd/28403286

                                              

State budget cuts decimate mental health services

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110309/ap_on_he_me/us_states_mental_health

By KRISTEN WYATT, Associated Press – 4 mins ago

DENVER – State budget writers looking for cash to balance the books have stripped a cumulative $1.8 billion from mental health services over the last 2 1/2 years, putting the public at risk as the mentally ill crowd emergency rooms and prisons, according to the nation's largest mental health advocacy group.

The Washington-based National Alliance on Mental Illness tallied state budget cuts to mental health services between 2008 and today and found that 32 states and Washington, D.C., cut funding just as economic stressors such as layoffs and home foreclosures boosted demand for services.

"These are really dangerous times," warned Michael Fitzpatrick, NAMI's executive director. The group reviewed state mental health budget cuts in the wake of the January shooting in Arizona, in which six people died and 13 were injured, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The man charged with shooting them, Jared Loughner, showed signs of mental illness but was never referred for treatment.

Indeed, the picture looks only grimmer in many states where legislatures still at work on next year's budgets are considering making things worse.....

"Any time you make cuts this massive in mental health cuts, the needs in prisons and hospitals and emergency rooms and homeless shelters start to pile up," Fitzpatrick said.

(snip) 

Tough times - for NAMI? Recently NAMI got 60% or so of its cash from Pharma - and a large percentage of the rest came from County, State, and Federal funding.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Alliance_on_Mental_Illness#Funding_and_US_Senate_Investigation_of_NAMI

http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/blogcategory/23/60/

A World Health Organization study indicated that those who were never medicated got better sooner than those who took meds.

http://www.mindfreedom.org/kb/mental-health-global/sartorius-on-who

Antidepressants may cause many more problems than we ever imagined.

http://www.madinamerica.com/madinamerica.com/Depression.html

Isn't it time doctors started checking for the real physical causes of mental illness rather than handing out prescriptions for something the drug rep recommended when your 15 minutes is up? 

http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/diamond.htm

For those who want to find out if they are on medications they actually need, and how to withdraw from meds they don't need to be on, check out the resources in our LINKS section - start at the top of the right hand column.

Cancer Defeated - Neuroblastoma - Cancer Control '07 Part 1

What an incredible Dad! What a brave little son!

May this information save the lives of many more.

http://www.cancertutor.com/

VRM: Alternative Cancer Cures That Work & Your Government Still Can't Ban Them From Use!

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Bobbys-Healthy-Shop  UK

http://www.alphaomegalabs.com/  USA and worldwide

March 1st: Mad as a March Hare

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_Hare

The March Hare is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The main character, Alice, hypothesises,

"The March Hare will be much the most interesting, and perhaps as this is May it won't be raving mad -- at least not so mad as it was in March."^[1]

"Mad as a March hare" was a common phrase in Carroll's time, and appears in John Heywood's collection of proverbs published in 1546. It is reported in The Annotated Alice by Martin Gardner that this proverb is based on popular belief about hares' behavior at the beginning of the long breeding season, which lasts from February to September in Britain. Early in the season, unreceptive females often use their forelegs to repel overenthusiastic males. It used to be incorrectly believed that these bouts were between males fighting for breeding supremacy.^[2]

Like the character's friend, the Hatter, the March Hare feels compelled to always behave as though it is tea-time because the Hatter supposedly "murdered the time" whilst singing for the Queen of Hearts. Sir John Tenniel's illustration also shows him with straw on his head, a common way to depict madness in Victorian times.^[3][4] The March Hare later appears at the trial for the Knave of Hearts, and for a final time as "Haigha" (which Carroll tells us is pronounced to rhyme with "mayor"), the personal messenger to the White King in Through the Looking-Glass.

This diagnostic software is guaranteed to make some physicians mad - and patients giddy with joy. 
Patient Knowledge Center
http://pkc.com/

The Fisher King and Adrenochrome

What really causes Schizophrenia?
A good work-up to determine any underlying physical illnesses is key.
http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/diamond.htm
The 29 causes of Schizophrenia are listed here

http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/causesofschizophrenia.htm

One cause is too much of an adrenal secretion - Adrenochrome. The best thing may be no caffeine for the fictional Perry of the film THE FISHER KING. Add Zinc to his diet, as well as Vitamin C and Niacin (B3), and his pesky Red Knight may be gone forever.

What Really Causes Schizophrenia

by Harold D. Foster

Trafford Publishing, Suite 6E, 2333 Government St., Victoria, BC V8T 4P4, Canada; 250-383-6864; www.trafford.com

Softbound; [c]2003; 257 pp.; $30; available as a free download at http://web.archive.org/web/20070105213900/www.hdfoster.com/Foster_Schizophrenia.pdf

What Really Causes Schizophrenia, written by Canadian geomorphologist and professor of medical geography Harold D. Foster, explains the adrenochrome hypothesis. This hypothesis was first published by Drs. Abram Hoffer, H. Osmond, and J. Smythies in 1954. It asserts that excess adrenochrome, not excess dopamine, produces the symptoms of schizophrenia. Conventional drug treatments for schizophrenia aim to lower dopamine levels. These drugs reduce symptoms by "15 to 20 percent," according to Dr. Foster; and they also have serious adverse effects over the long term, including parkinsonian involuntary movement. Adrenochrome, a neurotoxic metabolite of the catecholamine adrenaline, apparently disrupts major biochemical systems in people with a genetic predisposition to developing schizophrenia. Anxiety, rapid mood swings, thought disorders, fatigue, and sensory illusions and hallucinations characterize this increasingly common mental disorder.

Unlike the dopamine hypothesis, the adrenochrome hypothesis accounts for many biochemical patterns common among schizophrenic patients. For example, chronic schizophrenics tend to have damaged thyroid glands. Adrenochrome and the hormone triiodothyronine are antagonists. Adrenochrome is known to damage the thyroid. Also, adrenochrome, a highly reactive compound, generates free radicals that need to be neutralized by antioxidants. Cornerstones of the body's antioxidant defenses--glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase--are deficient in schizophrenic patients. Doctors have long recognized that diverse factors can trigger schizophrenia in susceptible persons. Each of these factors--which include various kinds of stress, excess sugar consumption, and exposure to allergic reactions--"either stimulates the body's production of adrenaline or promotes its metabolism to adrenochrome and its derivatives."

Orthomolecular psychiatrist Abram Hoffer identified adrenochrome as a possible factor in schizophrenia when he developed paranoia after ingesting the substance. He and coworkers hypothesized that giving people with schizophrenia high doses of the methyl acceptor niacin would slow noradrenalin's conversion to adrenaline, thereby producing less adrenochrome. Niacin, a nutrient deficient in people with schizophrenia, competes with the methyl acceptor noradrenalin and has become one of the mainstays of orthomolecular psychiatric treatment. (Orthomolecular medicine employs high doses of supplemental nutrients.)

In addition to examining what is known about the biochemistry of people with schizophrenia, What Really Causes Schizophrenia discusses five unconventional but effective therapies for schizophrenia: controlled fasting, histamine therapy, thyroid hormone therapy, biochemist Dr. Carl C. Pfeiffer's protocols, and Hoffer's protocol. Fasting and restrictive diets (monitored by a doctor) have normalized urine catecholamines, histamine, and serotonin levels in schizophrenic patients. Restrictive diets also help identify food sensitivities that stress the body, causing increased production of adrenaline. Milk and grains are the most common contributors to schizophrenic conditions. Histamine abnormalities, elevated homocysteine, and high levels of kryptopyrrole in the urine are other biochemical patterns commonly found in schizophrenic people. Pfeiffer developed five orthomolecular protocols to address the various subtypes.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070105213900/www.hdfoster.com/Foster_Schizophrenia.pdf

Quit Smoking

Happy Valentine's Day to all our friends and readers. 

Give your heart a gift this Valentine's Day - Quit Smoking!

George Washington University has helpful resources here
http://www.gwu.edu/quitsmoking/

Quit smoking Wikis are here
http://quitsmoking.wikia.com/wiki/Quit_Smoking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_cessation

Our favorite method is to reduce smoking cravings with Vitamin B3 -  nicotinamide - which the brain may perceive as identical to nicotine.
Pharmaceuticals Anonymous: Niacin for Smoking Cessation

Medications to quit smoking can have unwanted side effects.
http://pharmaceuticalsanonymous.blogspot.com/2008/05/spoof-death-cures-smoking.html

She (Tribute to Vivien Leigh)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivien_Leigh

Did Vivien Leigh suffer from "classical" Bipolar Disorder - or could she have had another biochemical problem? Much can be done with tests and nutrition to identify and correct mood problems today.

Material below from the wonderful site of Blake Graham

Nutritional healing for Bipolar Disorder
http://www.nutritional-healing.com.au/content/condition.php?category=neuro&condition=Bipolar+Disorder

Conditions > Bipolar Disorder

Welcome to the site of integrative nutritionist Blake Graham, director of Nutritional Healing in Perth, Western Australia. You may book an appointment for a consultation by phoning us via the Contact page. You may also wish to join our FREE e-NEWSLETTER.

Definition

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition in which periods of mania alternate with periods of depression. Mild cases of bipolar disorder can often go undiagnosed, with symptoms being mistaken for normal mood swings. Bipolar Disorder was formerly know as Manic Depression.

The are three main classifications of bipolar disorder:

• Bipolar I Disorder (mania with or without major depression)
• Bipolar II Disorder (hypomania [mild mania] with major depression)
• Cyclothymia (hypomania with mild depression)

Issues

Omega-3 fatty acids and Bipolar Disorder

Andrew Stoll M.D. is director of the Psychopharmacology research lab at Boston's McLean Hospital and assistant professor of Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry. He has published research on the relationship between omega-3 fatty acids and bipolar disorder. His research found that high-dose, concentrated omega-3 fatty acids (EPA & DHA) have effective mood stabilizing and antidepressant effects for many people with bipolar disorder. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential components of brain cell membranes, including those of neurotransmitter receptors. Omega-3 fatty acids also alter signal transduction and electrical activity in brain cells and control the synthesis of chemicals such as eicosanoids and cytokines, which may have a direct effect on mood. The following is an overview of a lecture by Dr. Stoll:

• Omega-3 Fatty Acids & Bipolar Disorder

The Omega-3 Connection: The Groundbreaking Anti-depression Diet and Brain Program by Andrew Stoll, 2001. In this book Stoll outlines the evidence for omega-3 fatty acids in treating illnesses such as bipolar disorder anddepression.

Research relating to bipolar disorder by Dr. Stoll:

• Omega 3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder: a preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, Arch Gen Psychiatry 1999 (full text pdf file)
• Omega-3 fatty acids and bipolar disorder: a review, Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 1999

Psychiatrist Jerry Cott, PhD has a graph available on his site comparing the lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder against seafood consumption. (It should be noted that association does not necessarily mean causation.) This corresponds to Dr. Stoll’s findings concerning omega-3 fatty acids, which are concentrated in fish:

• Bipolar Affective Disorders (Spectrum) and Seafood Consumption

Pfeiffer Treatment Center protocol

The Pfeiffer Treatment Center (PTC) possesses an extensive database of biochemical data from more than 1500 patients they have treated for bipolar disorder. The PTC express their concern that many nutritional treatments offered are highly generalized and can produce unpleasant effects. Their research has found that a subgroup of bipolar disorder patients are deficient in arachidonic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid. They have developed three primary biochemical classifications of bipolar disorder as follows (written by and printed with permission of co-founder and chief-scientist of the PTC, William Walsh, PhD):

1. Undermethylation: This condition is innate & is characterized by low levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, high whole blood histamine and elevated absolute basophils. This population has a high incidence of seasonal allergies, OCD tendencies, perfectionism, high libido, sparse body hair, and several other characteristics. They usually respond well to methionine, SAMe, calcium, magnesium, omega-3 essential oils (DHA & EPA), B-6, inositol, and vitamins A, C, and E. They should avoid supplements containing folic acid. In severe cases involving psychosis, the dominant symptom is usually delusional thinking rather than hallucinations. They tend to speak very little & may sit motionless for extended periods. They may appear outwardly calm, but suffer from extreme internal anxiety.
   
2. Overmethylation: This condition is the biochemical opposite of undermethylation. It is characterized by elevated levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, low whole blood histamine, and low absolute basophils. This population is characterized by the following typical symptoms: Absence of seasonal, inhalent allergies, but a multitude of chemical or food sensitivities, high anxiety which is evident to all, low libido, obsessions but not compulsions, tendency for paranoia and auditory hallucinations, underachievement as a child, heavy body hair, hyperactivity, "nervous" legs, and grandiosity. They usually respond well to folic acid, B-12, niacinamide, DMAE, choline, manganese, zinc, omega-3 essential oils (DHA and EPA) and vitamins C and E, but should avoid supplements of methionine, SAMe, inositol, TMG and DMG.
   
3. Pyrrole Disorder: This condition, also called pyroluria, is a genetic stress disorder associated with severe mood swings, high anxiety, and depression. The biochemical signature of this disorder includes elevated urine kryptopyrroles, a double deficiency of zinc and B-6, and low levels of arachidonic acid. Pyrolurics are devastated by stresses including physical injury, emotional trauma, illness, sleep deprivation, etc. Symptoms include sensitivity to light and loud noises, tendency to skip breakfast, dry skin, abnormal fat distribution, rage episodes, little or no dream recall, reading disorders, underachievement, histrionic behaviors, and severe anxiety. They usually respond quickly to supplements of zinc, B-6, Primrose Oil, and augmenting nutrients.

Table 1. Bipolar disorder subtypes

	Under-methylated (high histamine)	Over-methylated (low histamine)	Pyroluria
Subtype patient distribution	35%	25%	~18%
Potentially harmful supplements	Folate, choline, DMAE, copper and histidine	Methionine, SAMe, inositol, tryptophan, phenylalanine, St. John’s wort, tyrosine, copper, TMG and DMG	Histidine, copper and omega-3 fatty acids

The following on site link is a tabulated catalog of typical characteristics of these subtypes, which may be used to determine an individuals subtype in many cases, although laboratory tests are required to be certain:

• Major mental illness biochemical subtypes as described by Dr. Carl Pfeiffer and the Pfeiffer Treatment Center

The Pfeiffer Treatment Center claims that due to the diverse chemical nature of these different biochemical subgroups, a number of nutritional supplements for each group can exacerbate biochemical imbalances and be harmful for the individual. Biochemical sub-groupings must be determined with the help of a health professional before taking any of the supplements listed in the potentially harmful row above.

Related links:

• Neurotransmitter deficiency and excess symptoms
• Omega-3 fatty acids and mental health
• The role of minerals and vitamins in mental health
• Vitamin C and mental health research

The True Hope Institute is an organization dedicated to helping the mentally ill through nutritional supplementation. They place a major focus on bipolar disorder. True Hope has designed a nutritional supplement called Empowerplus, containing a range of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other components. The following three studies have been published concerning the Empowerplus nutritional supplement:

• Effective mood stabilization with a chelated mineral supplement: an open-label trial in bipolar disorder, J Clin Psychiatry 2001 Dec;62(12):936-44

"RESULTS: For those who completed the minimum 6-month open trial, symptom reduction ranged from 55% to 66% on the outcome measures; need for psychotropic medications decreased by more than 50%."

• Nutritional approach to bipolar disorder, J Clin Psychiatry 2003 Mar;64(3):338

"It [was] clear that the effectiveness and safety of EMP remain to be established in controlled trials, but this approach does appear to represent an exciting potential direction for new research in bipolar disorder."

• Treatment of mood lability and explosive rage with minerals and vitamins: two case studies in children, J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 2002 Fall;12(3):205-19.

“These cases suggest that mood lability and explosive rage can, in some cases, be managed with a mixture of biologically active minerals and vitamins, without using lithium or other traditional psychopharmacologic agents.”

Unfortunately, these studies have limited value as they were not placebo-controlled. A more individualized approach, as performed by thePfeiffer Treatment Center, balances biochemistry with more precision.

Hypoglycemia and bipolar disorder

Hypoglycemia is characterized by abnormally low blood sugar. Hypoglycemia can reduce the glucose supply to the brain, contributing to mood swings and depression.

Sensitivities and bipolar disorder

Food and chemical sensitivities can contribute to bipolar disorder. Some people find hidden food sensitivities are a major contributing factor. Common sensitivities include:

• Gluten (a protein in many grains such as wheat, rye, oats and barley) 
• Aspartame (an artificial sweetener) [Biol Psychiatry 1993 Jul 1-15;34(1-2):13-7] 
• Chocolate 
• Caffeine 
• Casein (a protein found in dairy products)

Related book:

• Brain Allergies: The Psycho-Nutrient Connection by William Philpott, MD, 1980

(In memory of LMGSK)